


A Different Path

by Mysstltaiin



Series: Making a miracle [1]
Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book/Movie Fusion, Canon? what Canon, Honestly what do I put in the tags, How did I forget that guy?, I have terrible humor, I'm Sorry, Jack Frost Needs a Hug (Guardians of Childhood), Jack and Nightlight are NOT the same person, Jack tries to save everyone, Katherine is adorable, May change the ratings later, No Romance...yet, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Project give everyone a happy ending, Tsar Lunar Lunanoff X, Yes that includes Pitch, let's destroy the timeline!, slight Katherine/Nightlight?, starts just before book 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysstltaiin/pseuds/Mysstltaiin
Summary: When Jack gets lost in the middle of a forest, he does not know what he will find. Certainly not an ally, and most definitely not a family. And yet...Present and past collide into one, as he makes friend and foe alike. Everything begins to intertwine and unravel as the world takes a different path from what might have been.CHAPTER 14 UP NOW!
Relationships: Jack Frost & Guardians of Childhood, Jack Frost & Katherine (Guardians of Childhood), Jack Frost & Mother Nature | Emily Jane Pitchiner, Jack Frost & Nicholas St. North, Katherine & Nightlight, Katherine & Ombric (Guardians of Childhood), Mother Nature | Emily Jane Pitchiner & Kozmotis Pitchiner, Mother Nature | Emily Jane Pitchiner & Tsar Lunar Lunanoff X | The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North & Ombric
Series: Making a miracle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078925
Comments: 15
Kudos: 38





	1. When you are lost, it is always a welcome to be found

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to A Different Path. This is not my first Fan fiction, but it is the first that I have published. I am very happy that you are here reading this and hope you stay on for it. It may take time for me to publish chapters every now and then because I am busy with school, but I hope to at least give you one a week. I welcome comments and constructive criticism and you can give suggestions and ask questions whenever you want.
> 
> Without further ado, Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Jack Frost was lost. He had been flying around for a few hours, simply enjoying the view of the night sky, when he was abruptly thrown off course by a harsh gust of wind. 

Now, surrounded by large unfamiliar trees, Jack had no idea how he could get home. It was night time and the sky was cloudless, allowing the bright stars and the full moon to light the clearing where Jack stood. Taking in his surroundings, Jack could not discern which way was 'home'.

He called the pond where he first arisen three years ago home, because that was the closest place he had to one. Jack only really knew three things about himself: He has winter powers, he's invisible and his name is Jack Frost.

He sighed aloud to himself, shaking his head as he pondered what to do next. He didn’t want to waste time flying endlessly, having no clue which direction to go in. And yet, he couldn’t simply stand around here uselessly either.

Before he could ponder any further on the matter, however, he heard the sound of footsteps on snow and the crunching of dead branches beneath a person's foot. Jack turned around and came upon the peculiar sight of a young girl.

She looked to be around twelve years old, with long reddish-brown hair tumbled down her shoulders and back in thick curls. She wore a yellow dress and brown fur lined boots and carried an old wooden basket filled with flowers in her grasp.

But it wasn’t her appearance that was peculiar. No, it was her intelligent grey eyes that stared, not through him, but _at_ him. Jack liked to hope that it was true, but three years of people being oblivious to his existence made him smother all hope quickly. _No one you’ve come across has ever seen you before,_ a voice whispered in the winter spirits mind, _why would now be any different._

Jack turned to leave before his thoughts took him anywhere else, but before he had completely, a voice made him freeze where he stood.

“H-Hello?” It was the little girl. _It couldn’t be!_ And yet, as Jack’s eyes widened as he turned to face the girl again, he could not seem to deny it.

She was looking at him. Straight at him and no one else. Jack looked around the area just to make sure, and when he realised the two of them were alone, he looked back at the strange girl with the inquisitive eyes.

“Are you… talking to me?” He dared to ask. “Can you actually see me?”

“Of course!” She chirped, a tentative smile reaching her lips. “Who else would I be talking to?”

Jack’s mind was running at a million miles an hour. He could not believe this! Three years of wishing and it finally came true. He is seen by someone! And they are talking to him. Jack had not realised how stifling the loneliness and the silence that accompanied him was. All this time- every night- he would ask the moon the same questions: Who am I? What am I? Why am I here? Why can no one see me?

He never got an answer.

But now, before him stands a little girl who can not only see him, but is _talking_ and _smiling_ at him. He feels like it has happened once before, like in a far away dream he can’t quite remember.

Jack thinks that, despite this great revelation, he would not want to scare away the child, and decided to try and make this encounter as un-awkward as possible.

“Right… that was a bit of a silly question wasn’t it?” He laughs it off for a moment, before the little girl’s next question brings his whole mind screeching to a halt.

“Are you a spirit of some kind?” She asks the question innocently, as if she had asked it before.

Jack blinks, before an uncertain smile comes upon his face. This girl cannot be a normal human, he reasoned, there’s no way she could know all this! “Why, yes I am, but how did you know?”

She softly giggled, putting the basket and walking slightly towards him. Jack has to look down to continue looking her in the eyes. “You don’t look like an ordinary human like me. That and the fact that you’re covered in frost and are hovering slightly off the ground.” She tilted her head to the side. “You are a winter spirit of some kind, aren’t you?”

_So she is a human, and a smart one too._ Jack hadn’t even noticed he was hovering until she pointed it out. Slowly putting his feet back onto the earth, he wondered if she might have seen other spirits as well then. “Correct again. Have you met any other spirits like me?”

She put a hand to her chin, as if in deep thought, a stray curl twisting around with every movement her head made. “I’ve met spirits, certainly. Some are invisible to most humans and others can be seen. But I haven’t met a winter spirit, or any kind of seasonal spirit for that matter.”

“Other invisible spirits?”

“Yeah! Like small fairies. They’re always surprised whenever I see them.” She had a grin on her face, as if remembering something funny. But then it morphed into shock and embarrassment as she exclaimed, “Oh! I forgot. My name’s Katherine by the way.”

“I see. Well it is very nice to meet you Katherine, my name’s Jack Frost. But you can just call me Jack.”

She nodded at this, a smile back on her face. She really was an adorable little girl, no doubt every adult she comes across turns to mush before her. Very well mannered too.

“So… mind telling me how it is you can see all these spirits? I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“It’s the power of belief!” She stated proudly. “Ombric taught me. It allows me to do magic and see all sorts of things that most ordinary people don’t.”

_The power of belief?_

“So this Ombric person can see spirits too?” Maybe he will have the answers to all of Jack’s questions.

“Yep! As can everyone in Santoff Claussen. That’s the village where I live, by the way.”

A whole village filled with people who can see spirits and do magic? Jack could not believe it. He must be dreaming. This simply cannot be real! But… even if it wasn’t and this was a dream, Jack did wonder what such a place would be like in his imagination.

“Where is this ‘Santoff Claussen’?”

Katherine looked down in embarrassment, the smile slipping off of her face and her cheeks going bright red. 

“Well, I wish I could take you there, but I don’t know where it is.” She then suddenly looked back up to Jack, eyes going wide and starting to tear up in fear. “I got lost! I was sent to go get a special flower from the forest. But once I found it, I couldn’t find the path back and so I wandered around for a bit. It started to get dark and I became all scared. But-but then I looked up and saw the moon. It was really bright and the light of if seemed to create a path when It shined down. Ombric always said that if I ever got lost, to just follow the light. And then it lead me to this bright clearing, where you were standing!”

After finishing her sudden outburst, Katherine took several breaths to calm herself down. A few stray tears had leaked from her eyes as spoke, but they soon disappeared. Jack had to hand it to the little girl. Getting lost in the woods at night would be scary for anyone, but especially a child all by herself. The winter spirit had to wonder if the moon had led her to him intentionally.

“It’s all right,” He said, in an effort to soothe her, “I’m a bit lost too. But I promise I will look after you and try to help you get home, okay?”

Jack could never bring himself to just leave a child by themselves. It had happened a few times before. A child would be lost and start crying, and although they could never see him or hear him, Jack would always stay by their side, trying to lead them home with frost patterns on the trees or just waiting till the child’s parents found them. Of course, the child didn’t always get found by their parents or anyone friendly. Sometimes they didn’t get found at all.

But Katherine could see him and he knows that he would protect her from anything. Just then, the picture of a young girl with straight brown hair before his mind. But it left before it was gone. _Strange, he thought, why did that feel so familiar?_

He was pulled out of his reverie, by the feeling of something wrapping around his waist and the sound of a muffled ‘Thank you’ against his chest. 

He could barely register what was happening. Someone was...touching him. They didn’t go straight through him, no cold and empty feeling ripped through his being. Never, in all his three years of existence, had anyone touched him. It was so comforting. It was familiar, and unfamiliar at the same time. But it wasn’t uncomfortable, no, It just felt right. He knew that for Katherine, he must be freezing, but Jack knew that she needed that comfort right now. And maybe so did he.

So, very carefully, he pulled his arms in closer to hold the girl in his cold but kind embrace. Jack did not know how long they stood there for, but eventually, Katherine pulled away (If Jack was disappointed, he tried not to show it). Her eyes were completely dry, but her cheeks and nose were still red from the cold.

“Sorry for crying on you.” She apologized. “I know a lot of spirits don’t like being touched by humans but…”

Jack gave her a comforting smile. “It’s alright, you just surprised me a bit. No one has ever seen, heard or touched me before. You caught me a little off guard.” He laughed to hide his whirling emotions, but Katherine’s face fell in sadness.

“No one has ever seen you or even touched you? I’m sorry, I couldn’t imagine what that’s like.” She gave a shudder, but not from the cold.

Jack just leaned on his staff, a sad smile on his face. “I got used to it.”

Katherine opened her mouth as if to protest, but Jack cut her off before she could say anything.

“Now! How about we see if we can find the way back home for you, right?” Katherine looked a little put out for a bit, but she lightened up at the prospect of going home.

“Really? Thank you, Jack!” 

“Alright then, I have no idea where we are going, but how about we re-trace your steps and go from there?” She nodded at this and started to lead him back the way she came. 

And if she quickly slid her hand into his, he didn’t comment on it.

{~}

Katherine really liked to talk.

She spoke about everything she could think of, never stopping for a moment. 

Apparently, Santoff Claussen is a fairly small village, isolated from the rest of the world. It is protected and run by Ombric, a great old wizard who had been Katherine’s guardian ever since he found her in the forest after her parents had died.

Oh, and apparently he was also a _wizard._

She spoke to him about Big Root, a large oak tree where she and Ombric lived that held a great library of all sorts of books.

That was another thing. Katherine absolutely loved to read. She read history books, science books, magic books, fiction and non-fiction. She had also taken it upon herself to learn other languages so she could read books in Greek and Latin and… Jack couldn’t even keep up by the end of it.

When they reached the flower patch where Katherine had first gotten lost, she bounced in front of him, looking around the area.

Jack was about to ask her what the path should look like when a voice cried out.

“KATHERINE! KATHERINE WHERE ARE YOU?” It was a man’s voice, and, despite sounding quite old, whoever it belonged to had quite a pack of lungs.

“That’s Ombric’s voice!” Katherine gasped. She searched around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.

“OMBRIC!” She shouted. “I’M HERE BY THE LAVENDER PATCH! THERE’S NO NEED TO WORRY, I’M ALRIGHT!”

With that last comment, Jack had to wonder if this had perhaps happened before.

A rustling of leaves and bushes sounded from his left, and Jack and Katherine turned to face the owner of the loud voice.

He was an old man, with a very long white beard. His eyes were older than even his appearance, indicating that he had seen many things in his lifetime. He wore long dark blue robes, lined with a lighter blue on the edges. In his hand he held what appeared to be a walking stick, but upon further inspection, Jack noticed that it was, in fact, a staff.

Ombric eyes lingered on Katherine, a soft smile stretching upon his weathered face and relief shining in his eyes, before turning to face the spirit whom his charge was still holding hands with. He frowned, assessing Jack, trying to determine what he was doing there and who he even was.

Thankfully, Katherine broke the silence before it could get awkward. “U-um, Ombric, this is Jack Frost. Jack, this is Ombric.”

Sadly, she had let go of his hand at this point, but still stood next to Jack, for which he was grateful.

“Um, hi!” Nice going Jack, way to make a first impression on the second person who appears to be able to see you. If it turns out that there are multiple people who can see him, Jack thinks that he may have to seriously work on his social skills.

“Jack Frost,” The old wizard mused, “I do not think I have heard that name before. Tell me, are you a new spirit?”

“I am, I only came to being around three years ago.” And how long ago that felt now. It seemed like more than a century had passed since he emerged from the lake.

Ombric seemed to contemplate his words. “I see, and you are a winter spirit, I assume?”

“Correct.” At least, he thinks so.

Katherine chose this point to butt back into the conversation. “Jack volunteered to get me back home despite being lost too.”

Ombric seemed to contemplate this for a while before speaking up again. “Then I suppose I should thank you, Jack Frost, for looking after Katherine. She is quite the troublesome child sometimes.” He said the last part while glancing back down at the little girl at Jack’s side.

“It was no problem,” Jack said, “I’m just glad that she’s alright. Although, I have to ask, who’s idea was it to make a little girl go wandering around the forest by herself?” He was still a bit miffed at that part.

Ombric had the decency to look ashamed at that. “That would be me. I was making a special potion, you see, and had need of lavander. Katherine was the only person available at the time who could get it for me. I didn’t know she would get lost, as she’s been here before.” He turned to Katherine, who was looking more and more put out by his words. “I do apologise, child, if I had known this would happen I would have sent one of the adults or an older child with you. You were lucky to find someone who was willing to help you.”

Katherine shook her head, her long curls bouncing with the movement. “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know. It’s more mine for getting lost. And besides, like you said, I had Jack to help me!”

She smiled up at the winter spirit, who returned his own grin back. 

“Well,” Ombric smiled again, “I believe it is much past the time of a certain young lady's bed time, wouldn’t you agree Katherine?”

“Not at all!” The young lady in question replied, just before giving a huge yawn. Jack couldn’t help but laugh, Katherine really was a fun little girl.

Ombric raised his eyebrows and turned to Jack, the look on his face seemed to say _‘Can you believe this child?’_ “Now, now, you always complain about going to sleep, but in the mornings you complain about waking up! Young people these days are notorious for it.”

Jack realised that this was where they parted ways, as they most likely would not want a cold spirit like him to linger about. “I suppose I should leave you to it then. Take care, and don’t get lost again, Katherine.”

“Wait! You’re not going far are you, I was hoping I could speak to you again.” Katherine looked to him with a crestfallen expression that made him want to immediately wrap her up in his arms again until she smiled.

“Well, I-”

Ombric interrupted him. “Why not stay the night at least? I have never had a conversation with a winter spirit before, and I think you might like the company.”

Jack wondered if that was all Ombric wanted, or if the wizard wanted to make sure that Jack truly meant no harm to Katherine. 

If he left, he wasn’t even sure he would know where to go, or how to get back. But if he stayed, he had no idea what would await him in that village full of believers. Would it be everything he wished for? Or would it overwhelm him?

Decisions like these are hard to make, and, for some reason, Jack knew that this was an important one.

“Alright,” He decided, “I think some company might be quite nice.”

Ombric’s smile grew wider, and Katherine’s sleepy grin made it easier to stay with his decision. Especially when she took his hand.

And so, the three of them emerged from the dark forest, into a village of Magic, Stories, Fun, Wonder, Hope, Memory, Dreams and Light.

No one knew what would happen next, and perhaps that, for now, was a good thing.


	2. Someplace unfamiliar and far away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I know I said one chapter a week, but I wanted to get this out before going back to school. I've only got three days left before the holidays which should give me a lot more time.
> 
> Anyway, Sorry if the chapters seem kind of short, writing takes a long time to get right. A lot of the information in this chapter comes from the Wiki page and my memory of the books. (I seriously need to read those again soon.) If you think I have got anything wrong or want me to add something in, please tell me.
> 
> Anyway, here it is!

Chapter 2- Someplace unfamiliar and far away

“So, how did you end up so far away from your home?” Ombric stroked his long white beard with one hand, while nursing a steaming cup of hot chocolate in his other.

Katherine had already been sent to bed, although the girl would not leave until both he and Jack promised to tell her what they discussed in the morning.

Ombric remembered a time when children would be told to go to bed and they would do just that! He has no idea how parents are able to manage it with multiple children.

Sighing, he looked towards the strange spirit that sat before him. Jack looked to be about seventeen years old, with pale skin, white hair, blue eyes and long limbs. He wore simple deer skin trousers and a thin brown cloak over a white top. The boy (because that is what he was) also carried with him a wooden staff, which, if you looked closely, was covered in intricate frost patterns. Despite being such a simple thing, it really was quite beautiful.

Apparently, Jack was a winter spirit who came to being around three years ago. He was invisible to all the mortals he had come across, and had never been lucky (or unlucky) to be met by another spirit. At least, this was all until he met Katherine.

Ombric can only imagine how much of a shock that was. To have no physical contact or speak to anyone in three years… why it could drive a person mad. 

There was also the fact that Jack seems to have a mortal aura about him, implying that he most likely was a human that became a spirit.

But, the winter spirit claims that he has no memory of a life before being a spirit, only that he emerged from a lake and that it was the moon that told him his name.

And wasn’t that interesting?

Ombric knew the legends and stories of the Golden Age, of course. That a long time ago, humans roamed the cosmos and were ruled by the great Lunanoffs. The last Lunanoff being said to reside within the moon. 

But whether or not it was true, Ombric wasn’t sure. Until now.

After telling his story, Jack had been observing the inside of the great oak named Big Root, from where he sat in a large red armchair holding his own mug of (cold?) chocolate, before Ombric had asked his question.

The old wizard observed him for a while longer, waiting until the spirit spoke up again.

“I had been simply flying around above the forest where my lake was, until a large gust of wind simply blew me off course. I think I hit my head on something, because I blacked out for a bit. The next thing I knew, I was somewhere I didn’t recognise.” Jack took a small sip from his mug, the look on his face seemed to tell that he enjoyed it.

“Can you tell me, geographically, where this lake of yours is?” If it was just a strong gust of wind, then it can’t have been that far away. But if Jack’s lake was nearby, then why had they never met until now?

Jack rubbed the side of his head. “From what I remember of listening in on people’s conversations, the town nearby was some place called ‘Burgess’, and they kept mentioning a ‘Pennsylvania’? Not quite sure on that one.”

Strange, Ombric believed he may have heard of that place before. He put his mug down and motioned for Jack to follow him. They went down to the floor underneath, where the wizard kept a large globe.

This was a very special globe, as when a new place is discovered, it will automatically appear on the globe. When you wanted to find somewhere, all you had to do was say the name of the place and the globe would point you to it.

Stepping up to the globe, Ombric said the name ‘Burgess’ and the globe immediately started to turn.

While Santoff Claussen is located all the way in Eastern Siberia, it appears that Burgess in Pennsylvania is located over in America!

When Ombric pointed this out to Jack, the winter spirit got a very confused look on his face. “I don’t think that was a simple gust of wind then. I mean, I know I’m light, but there is no way I ended up here like that so quickly.”

Ombric was of the same thought, and believed it may have been the prank of another spirit. But Jack had never come across any other spirits, nor did it sound like he had done anything to incur someone's ire.

As Jack continued to study the globe, Ombric whent to the window. A full moon was shining, its bright moonbeams scouring the earth, as if searching for something.

He turned back to Jack. _I wonder…_

He shook his head. He was tired and the hour was late, now was not a time to be dwelling on such things. He insisted that Jack stay in one of the guest rooms, using a tone of voice that left no room for argument (except with Katherine). 

When all the lights had gone out and he returned to his bedroom, Ombric once more turned his gaze to the moon.

When he looked upon the silvery orb, Ombric couldn’t help but think that something very big may be happening soon.

{~}

Far away, in a dark corner of the world, an abyss sits silently. This black hole of shadow and fear has been here for thousands of years, waiting for a time when that which is locked away shall be free once more.

The land outside the abyss was barren, save for a small wooded area where a tiny village lay. It was night, and so all residents, young and old, were fast asleep.

None were witness to the small light that flew past them, illuminating the dark. This tiny light was, in fact, a moonbeam sent from the Man in the Moon himself to watch over the children of the world.

This moonbeam did not know it yet, but the very world would change with its actions on this night.

The moonbeam was a curious little thing, very adventurous and holding little fear. So, of course, when it came upon the deep abyss, the moonbeam could not help but explore what was there.

Down and down it went, and the further it explored, the darker it got. The shadows here felt deadly and the air was slick with fear. The moonbeam gave a shiver, but it was here now and did not want to give into the fear and leave.

Eventually, the moonbeam spotted what appeared to be the faintest glint of light, barely there. Intrigued, the moonbeam sped up and dove down closer.

It was a dagger! A diamond dagger to be precise. It was beautiful, giving of a tiny glow, like the barest spark of hope. The moonbeam noticed that the dagger seemed to be lodged in something.

It floated around trying to illuminate the dark area before it highlighted the face… of a man?

This man had sickly pale skin, and hair of jet black. He was shrouded in shadow, and the moonbeam realised that the deep feelings of fear it felt were emanating from this man!

This was no ordinary human, the moonbeam realised. This was Pitch Black, the Nightmare King!

Thousands of years ago, when the Man in the Moon was still a baby, Pitch Black had terrorised and destroyed the Golden Age before ultimately being sealed away at the centre of a planet called earth-this planet.

The moonbeams were always on the look out for this man and his fearlings and were told that, should he ever appear, they were to report back to the Man in the Moon immediately.

Panacking, the moonbeam whirled around in worry, before calming down a bit at the sight of the glowing dagger. Something about just felt so comforting, and the moonbeam couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Very lightly, the moonbeam once again drew close to the dagger, close enough to sense something there. It felt… old, but kind. Otherworldly, but familiar. The moonbeam drew closer and closer until…

A bright light erupted from the abyss, illuminating all in sight. Soon after that light disappeared, the figure of a boy appeared, flying into the air while holding the diamond dagger.

What had happened was that the moonbeam had gotten so close to the dagger, that it had trapped itself inside it. The light from the dagger then released it from its hold and allowed the source of the faint glow out.

The moonbeam had no idea this would happen, or even that someone was trapped inside! Much like how, by doing so, something else would be freed.

As the strange boy, holding the diamond dagger with the moonbeam now inside, landed just outside the small village near the abyss, eyes like a solar eclipse opened for the first time in thousands of years.

The moonbeam would later on in this story find out what it had done, and would only have one thing to say:

Oops?

{~}

Katherine woke up to the sun shining on her face. 

Though she had protested against it the night before, she truly was tired, and had thus forgotten to close her windows. It didn’t bother much. Katherine had always preferred being in the light, and the thought of being watched over by the moon and the countless stars in the sky.

Yawning as she stretched, Katherine recalled the events of the night before and her meeting with Jack Frost. She sat on the edge of her bed, mind blank for a moment, before jumping up and rushing to get dressed, hoping to pester the winter spirits with as many questions as possible before she starts her morning lessons.

The young girl practically flew down the stairs, landing very ungracefully at the bottom, before speeding off to the kitchen.

Upon entering the space, she found Jack lounging in one of the wooden chairs sat opposite from Ombric. The both of them had cups that smelt suspiciously of chocolate.

Ombric was the first to notice her. “Ah, Katherine, I’m surprised you’re up so early.” 

“You promised to tell me what you spoke about last night, so obviously I would wake up early!” She replied, before taking a seat on the end of the large red-wood table. A fresh cup of hot chocolate appeared before her. _The wonders of magic._

The three talked for an hour, with Jack and Ombric doing most of the talking and Katherine jumping in with questions every now and then.

“So what you’re saying is, Jack is really, really far away from home, we have no idea what exactly caused it, and you don’t think it’s the doing of any spirit.” Katherine frowned at the two as she summarised what they had discussed. Really, considering the two had been up until the early hours of the morning, there wasn’t much to say.

“Yep,” Jack spoke up, “That’s pretty much it.” Katherine felt sorry for Jack. Not only had he been by himself for all these years, but now he’s been pulled away from the only home he’s known without even knowing why or how.

Katherine noticed that when Jack said this, Ombric got _that_ look on his face. It was the face that said he suspected something more, but wasn’t going to tell anyone no matter how hard they tried to pry the information out of her. (Trust her, she’s tried.)

The look faded quickly from his face, though, before Jack could notice. “We may figure that all out later, for now I have some things I have to search up. Katherine, why don’t you show Jack around the village and introduce him to the rest of the villagers, hm?”

_Research? So he really does know something. Well, at least now I can spend more time with Jack._

“Right,” She agreed, “I suppose that means there won’t be any lessons today?”

“No, I’m afraid not, child. But we will continue tomorrow. I believe it is high time I taught you how to speak with birds.”

“Really?” Katherine had always wanted to learn how to communicate with birds. She wanted to ask them what it was like to fly around without a care in the world, something she wanted to one day experience.

“Really.” The old wizard agreed with a smile, knowing exactly what his charge was thinking about.

Katherine then realised they hadn’t asked if Jack was alright with the arrangement, and promptly decided to do so.

The winter spirit gave her a giant grin. “Yes! I would love to see the village.” although the prospect of meeting so many people seemed daunting to him, the idea of being seen and spoken to, alleviated those fears very quickly.

{~}

To say Jack was nervous was an understatement.

Meeting Katherine the night before had been overwhelming. Having a full conversation with Ombric had been surreal. Meeting a village full of people who could see him was likely to make him fall into a social coma.

Jack, after a long night of contemplation, had decided that this in fact was reality and not a dream. It was his wish come true and yet… he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

Well, that was until Katherine had once again taken his hand, given him a bright smile, and walked beside him with a spring in her step.

And just like that, his fears abated. This one little girl with a heart of gold made him feel safe, and reminded him of such familiar feelings.

When he looked at her, he felt like he should remember something very important, but wasn’t sure what.

Santoff Claussen was a place for dreamers. A long time ago, Ombric had searched for a haven where people could do anything, with their imagination being their only limit. He soon found Big Root, a large tree that had been imbued by the magic of starlight from a fallen meteor.

To protect the village, he had cultivated a circling hedge of bracken and vines a hundred feet high with large spear-like thorns. He had also planted large trees to block the way of evildoers. Lastly, he placed two guardians as a defence: a large black bear and The Spirit of the Forest, who would tempt the evildoers and trespassers with riches, before turning them to stone.

Ombric had explained to Jack that he had fallen in the middle of those defences, and the only reason he wasn’t bothered by them was because he was pure of heart, never wishing cruelty upon children. That was another reason as to why Ombric let Jack in so readily. Very few have been allowed through the barriers to Santoff Claussen.

Looking around himself, Jack could easily tell this was a very special place. Bathed in the morning light, the wooden houses were strong and sturdy, not one looking like they were going to fall apart. Animals roamed the place freely, not one looking afraid of the few villagers that had woken up early. In fact, some of them seemed to get up close to the people, birds perching upon their shoulders and squirrels running and jumping beside them. Even the snow seemed brighter here than anywhere else. But the most noticeable thing was that Jack could _feel_ the magic in this place. It was amazing, with no malicious energy anywhere. It simply felt...safe. 

Amazed by what he saw, Jack got a shock as he was suddenly pulled out of his wonder, when Katherine pulled him along to a group of children sitting beside a stream. As they came closer, Jack noticed that they were trying to perform magic. They were all on their knees, waving their hands in odd shapes as they appeared to be… trying to manipulate the water?

They all had looks of pure concentration on their faces, some of them chanting ‘I believe’ over and over again while others were just staring intently. So far, none of them had lifted a single drop.

Katherine cleared her throat loudly to get their attention.

“I'm pretty certain Ombric told you that trying to manipulate elements at this age would be far too difficult right now. He hasn’t even taught us how to manipulate droplets, so I don’t understand why you are _still_ trying to collectively lift the stream.” Despite her reprimanding words, Katherine had a fond and amused smile on her face, as if she had seen this scene many times already.

“But Katherine we-” The smallest boy looked up. He had a messy mop of brown curls, dark skin and brown eyes so dark they almost looked black. He had looked up, expecting to see just Katherine standing there, but got a shock when he noticed someone else standing next to her. “Who’s that?”

At this point, all the children had stood up and were staring at the newcomer. It wasn’t very often they met someone they didn’t know, even the spirits don’t always come around due to a lot of them not actually being very nice. Spirits used to be allowed to come and go through the barriers with ease, but after one too many cruel tricks, Ombric made certain the barriers applied to them too.

“Everyone, this is Jack Frost, Jack, meet Tall William, William the almost youngest, and William the absolute youngest.” She gestured to three identical boys, discernable by age only by their heights, Tall William being the oldest and Absolute William being the youngest. They all had tan skin and auburn hair. Their eyes were all of a sky blue shade.

“There is Fog and his younger sister, Mist.” She pointed towards the first boy that spoke and a smaller girl who had the same features as him but shorther and with wild hair that reached her shoulders instead.

“And, finally, Petter and Sascha.” Unlike the other siblings, these two didn’t look much alike. Petter had bright blonde hair, brown eyes and pale skin. Sascha shared her brother's skin tone, but her hair was a lot darker and she had one blue eye and the other being brown.

They all sitll stood on the other side of the stream, various expressions of excitement and curiosity.

He waved his hand awkwardly. “Uh, hi!” Greaaat. Turns out you learned nothing from your past two encounters, Jack. _Shut up, Jack,_ he mentally told himself.

“Nice to meet you.” Tall William held out his hand. He seemed like the oldest, looking to be only a year or two older than Katherine. Jack, after a moment of staring at the offered hand dumbly, quickly shook it, realisng that that was how people greeted each other. When their hands made contact, Tall Williams' eyes went wide in surprise, and, instead of pulling away, put his other hand on top of Jacks. “Man, your hands are freezing! I know it’s the middle of winter, but woah!”

“Well, I _am_ a winter spirit.” Jack explained. “Being cold sort of comes with the job.” 

This caused them all to perk up even more. “Really?” Sascha breathed. “It's been _forever_ since we last saw a spirit.”

Petter spoke up at this point. “Sascha, Katherine invited you to go see the fairies with her last week!” He cast an exasperated look at his sister.

“Yeah, but they only show up for Kat. whenever someone else comes along, they vanish into thin air!” She shot back at her brother.

“Sash, that only happens because they don’t like being _poked and prodded_ by people.” Katherine gave a similar look to Petter at Sascha, who just stuck her tongue out at the older girl. Katherine, like the mature girl she likes to describe herself as, stuck her own out in reply.

Jack laughed softly at their antics, unintentionally drawing attention back onto himself.

“So,” drawled William the Almost, “What is it you can actually _do?”_

Jack thought on this a while. “Let’s see. I can make it snow, turn water to ice, frost practically anything, make things _really_ cold, and,” He got a mischievous look in his eyes, “make the best snowball fights ever!”

The last one seemed to do the trick. And so, for the rest of the morning, Jack Frost had his first ever snowball fight while being seen.

It was the happiest he had ever felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Remember to comment your thoughts below.


	3. Shadows, Plans and Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, remember I said I wanted to do one chapter a week? Well...
> 
> That plan failed. It appears that I will just be getting these up as quickly as possible. I am very sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I promise that the next one is a lot longer.
> 
> This chapter is more like an interlude or something, with three very different viewpoints that are all very hard to write actually.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I will see you with the next one!

Chapter 3- Shadows, plans and light

Pitch stalked his way across the snowy plains, fearlings awaiting orders, ready to corrupt and feed off of the fear of any child it sees.

After he had woken up in the abyss near the centre of the world where he had been trapped for an unaccountable time, the Nightmare King was more than ready to cause chaos. First, he’ll start by completely destroying that which imprisoned him in the first place.

_That insufferable light! Once I’m done eradicating your very existence, I will march up to the moon and finish what I started all those years ago._

He looked up to the moon, its light was pale and blinding. Pitch was not strong enough for any of his ambitions yet, though, so he orders his fearlings to seek out the children of this small world.

Still looking at the moon, Pitch Black gave a cruel small and a mocking bow. “Worry not, Tsar Lunar, we shall meet… soon.”

And with that, he melted into the shadows, leaving not a trace of himself behind.

{~}

Far above the earth, above the clouds and the sky, the Moon Clipper sat in orbit. This great ship was once able to fly, but during the final fight with the Nightmare King thousands of years ago, it has been unable to move. Instead, it disguised itself as a moon, acting as a place where the great Tsar Lunar could watch over the children of Earth.

Tsar Lunar would not deny that it gets lonely up there sometimes, but watching the children of this small planet laughing and playing, always made him feel better.

However, right now, he was in no good mood. Certainly not, as Pitch Black, the man who had murdered Tsar Lunar’s parents, had appeared once again.

Feelings of rage, uncertainty and loss bubbled up inside him. He knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time until the Nightmare King became free again. It was why Tsar Lunar had been making preparations.

Sending his moonbeams to be on the constant look out for Pitch had been one. He did not want them to be afraid, and thus told them to be wary just in case, and not actively seek him out.  
Tsar Lunar had also been looking through the old parts of the Moon Clipper, searching for weapons and relics that had been made specifically for fighting fearlings.

He had also sent messages to the Lunar Lamadary, in hopes that the Luna Llamas would be on the lookout as well.

Finally, he may or may have sent an unsuspecting winter spirit over the small village of Santoff Claussen. Tsar Lunar was always regretful that he could never answer Jack’s questions. Being so far away, he was surprised that he was able to communicate Jack’s name to him. Even after thousands of years, Tsar Lunar had found it difficult to communicate with the people of Earth, humans and spirits alike. He could communicate with the Luna Llamas because they had the Moon Mirror to communicate with.

There had always been something special about Jack. Most spirits and immortals cared little for mortal affairs, simply going about their jobs and keeping to themselves. But when Jack looked at the children of the world playing around in the snow he made, Tsar Lunar saw a deep yearning. A _want_ to be involved and be seen and spoken to.

When Jack first emerged from the lake, Tsar Lunar had wanted him to explore the world and learn about his powers, so he looked away for a moment. Turns out that a ‘moment’ was actually three years. Time was difficult for Tsar Lunar to keep track of. 

In the beginning, he had done well at it. But as the centuries passed, and ages came and went, he simply lost connection with it.

He knew it was no excuse, but he could only pray that his quick decision to send him somewhere he could be seen would help Jack.

Turning to look at them now, Tsar Lunar saw a wonderful sight.

Playing in the snow with the children of Santoff Claussen, was Jack Frost. He was laughing and smiling with them, no longer ignored or walked through. Some of them decided to gang up and tackle Jack, making the lot fall to the ground. He also noticed that a certain budding magician was also there.

Katherine Shalazar was certainly an interesting little girl. Being raised by the great wizard Ombric himself, Tsar Lunar had expected her to do well at magic, but the girl had defied all those expectations. He knew, that in the upcoming and unavoidable conflict, that this girl would be invaluable to them. There was also the fact that she and Jack seemed to have formed a bond of friendship already, which was definitely a plus.

Yes, the right decision indeed.

Turning away from the scene and onto more pressing matters, Tsar Lunar noticed that a gathering of fearlings was moving towards Santoff Claussen. At the rate they were going, they would reach the village by nightfall, the time when they were strongest.

Well, that certainly would not do.

Thinking about how he could resolve that, he then thought about the small moonbeam that had started this whole mess. He could not blame the little one, in fact, he believed that he may owe it a debt of gratitude.

Yes, it did free Pitch, but it also freed someone else. Someone that Tsar Lunar had thought lost for a long time. Just thinking about that person brought back memories of a song, sung as a lullaby to keep nightmares away.

His decision made, Tsar Lunar made to contact the moonbeam which was currently trapped within a crystal dagger. Making his intentions and orders clear, he only hoped that the little moonbeam would pass on the message.

_The village of dreamers_ , he said, _protect the children._

The only thing he could do now, was wait. Wait and hold hope that everything would be alright.

{~}

Back down on Earth, in an undiscovered mountain range, a spectral boy danced from peak to peak. 

The boy was like mist and starlight, certainly not of this world. He pranced with a spring in his step and a bright smile on his face. Despite waking up in the dark, it would be impossible to not identify him as a being of light.

The boy knew nothing. Having only to himself the armour he wore and the diamond tipped staff he held. When he had first woken up (was it waking? He certainly hadn’t felt tired since), he had been holding a diamond dagger, which glowed faintly with moonlight. He had soon found a broken tree branch and tied the dagger to the top. When he came across the shadowy creatures, screaming with fear and terrorising the Small Ones (children, he reminds himself they are called), he pointed the diamond tipped staff at them. When they took one look at him, they fled, and the Small Ones were no longer afraid.  
He did not like it when the Small Ones were afraid, it made him sad to not see their smiles.

He also found that he could fly, something that he thoroughly enjoyed. The mountains where he was jumping over were very high, but he knew that he would not fall. In the light of the setting sun, the spectral boy sparkled in magnificence, echoes of laughter singing in his wake.

It was at this point that he heard a voice. Or, well, not a voice but more of a thought. He stopped and looked around himself, eventually finding that the diamond dagger was the source of the message. Or really, what was inside of it.

He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but it felt familiar and friendly, which was good enough for him.

_‘The village! The village of dreamers is in danger’,_ it cried, _‘Protect the children, Bright One! Keep the shadowy ones away!’_

The message was cause for alarm. Small Ones in danger? That was never a good thing. The problem was, that the spectral boy had no idea where this ‘village of dreamers was’. In his short time of being here, the boy had come across many villages, so the dagger was going to have to be more specific.

As if reading his thoughts, the dagger continued to ‘speak’.

_‘Follow us!’ It said.’We will lead you there.’_

Just then, two more lights appeared before him. They were faint in the sun’s light, but looking at them now, a name for them and the one inside his dagger appeared in his mind. 

Moonbeams.

That one word sparked a myriad of emotions, making him feel slightly uncomfortable for the moment it lasted. But now was not the time to think about that. Nodding to the moonbeams, he sped off, behind them.

The moonbeams could not move as quickly as him, so he had to go at a much slower pace than he would have liked.

He only hoped he would make it in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading till the end.
> 
> Remember to comment!


	4. Sometimes, sneaking out at night isn't always the wisest of decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This is the longest chapter I have written so far, and I must say that I really enjoyed writing this one. You will notice that this is probably the chapter where things start to become really AU. Some things may not make sense at the moment for a few chapters, but they will get an explanation later on. I promise!
> 
> A lot of the ideas from this chapter come from a friend of mine who also enjoys this fandom and whom I share the chapter ideas with. They are actually a big reason as to why I am writing this story in the first place, so thank you.
> 
> Anyway, I have rambled enough.
> 
> Please enjoy!

Chapter 4- Sometimes, sneaking out at night isn’t the wisest of decisions

Jack should have known something would go wrong. 

After a day of introductions and playing in the snow with the children, he and Katherine had returned to Big Root to see Ombric. The old wizard had welcomed them cheerfully, but seemed distracted for the rest of the evening. He had asked Jack if he was saying, to which the spirit replied that, at least for now, yes. But he said that after a week, he will see about going back to the lake.

Katherine had made him promise that he would at least visit often, to which he heartily agreed.

That evening, after the sun had gone down and the children had finally gone to sleep. Apparently, the children of Santoff Claussen were notorious for avoiding going to sleep. So much so, that they often had to use traps to catch the children and stop them from running away. Today, however, the children had gone straight to sleep, no fuss and no escapes. At first, the adults were confused, but then remembered the winter spirit that their children had been playing with all day. They reasoned that all the excitement of the day had tired all the children out. Even Katherine had put up no complaint.

Which made Ombric suspicious. He told the winter spirit as such, and asked Jack to keep an eye out for a while just in case of some late night escapes. The wizard had looked so weary and stuck in deep thoughts that Jack couldn’t help but agree.

True enough, once all the lights in the village had gone out, Jack spotted eight small figures dashing out of their houses and into a huddle near the forest's edge. From his perch within the branches of Big Root, Jack could spot all the children of Santoff Claussen there. Even Katherine and Tall William, the most mature of the group, were there. 

Wondering what was going on, Jack made his way down towards them, silent as possible and making sure he wasn’t seen. As soon as he was close enough, Jack stayed and listened in on their conversation.

“-This about, Kat?” He heard Sascha ask as she pulled her brown woolen cloak closer to herself.

“As I said earlier, the insects were all talking about something in the woods. Something _new._ ” Katherine replied.  
“What ‘something’?” Mist was currently fiddling with what looked like a lamp, before passing it to Tall William.

Katherine sighed. “I don’t know. Every time I asked, they would just go quiet and run away.”

Petter hummed. “You and Tall William are the only ones who can speak to insects at the moment, but you only finished recently. Are you sure you didn’t just insult them or something?”

Katherine made an offended noise, and Almost William cuffed the boy on the back of his head. “Petter, you idiot! You shouldn’t insult a girl’s intelligence like that. Especially Katherine, she’d never get it wrong.”

The girl huffed out a laugh. “Thank you, but I am pretty certain I got it right. Besides, never mind that, aren’t you curious about what it might be? Jack recently showed up, so maybe it's another spirit.”

That certainly got the winter spirits attention. If there was another spirit, he wondered what kind they were and what they were like. However, Jack could not deny that since the sun had gone down, something felt off. It felt like he was being watched, but by what, he didn’t know.

Absolute William looked excitedly to the others as he agreed. “Katherine’s right! We should check it out. If it hasn’t been chased away by the defences yet, then it can’t be dangerous to us. This is the only chance we’ll get to do something like this.”

“And what if it _is_ dangerous, though?” Fog asked, looking a bit apprehensive.

“Then we’ll just put Kat in front of it and let her beat it up and scare it off.” Sascha cheered.

Katherine snorted. “Thanks, Sash”

“Any time.” 

The idea that Katherine would scare off whatever was in there seemed to actually take effect on the others, and they all soon got a determined look on their faces. 

As soon as Tall William lit the lantern, the children all made to enter the woodland. They were stopped in their tracks by an unexpected voice.

“And where do you think you are going?” Jack asked, as he came out in front of them from his hiding place.  
The children all looked shocked for a moment, before guilty expressions crossed upon their faces. 

Katherine stepped forward. “Oh, um, Jack. We were just-”

He put a hand up to silence her.

“I already know what you’re doing, but are you certain you really want to go tromping through the woods in the dark looking for something you may not find?”

Tall William stood up besides Katherine. “We know what we are doing, we’ve got a light and are going to tie rope to a tree every now and then so we don’t get lost.” He pulled out a long rope from his bag.

Goodness knows, they probably don’t want a repeat of the night before.

“I see. It seems you are prepared.” He noted with an appreciative smile on his face. He leaned in closer to Tall William. “But are you sure?”

The boy looked him straight in the eye. “We are.”

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re sure you’re sure?”

This made Tall William pause for a moment. “Um...yes?”

The two stared at each other in silence for a long while, all the other kids looking back and forth between them.

When Tall William started to squirm under the spirits gaze, Jack finally relented. “Alright.”

They looked even more surprised at this. 

“What?” He asked. “If I told you to go back to bed, you’d just sneak out another time. Best I go with you now and prevent any disasters from happening.”

They all let out a sigh of relief. Having Jack _and_ Katherine with them would make them feel even more safe.

What could possibly go wrong?

{~}

Everything. Everything could go wrong.

It was all going fine until the light went out. They hadn't gone very far and it was supposed to last hours. There were no sudden gusts of wind and Jack was keeping his cold aura to himself.

They walked with Tall William at the front holding the lantern, Jack in the middle and Fog at the back, holding the rope and tying it to a tree every now and then.

Katherine kept close to Jack. The other children looked up to her, and expected her to be fearless. But, she wouldn't deny that even _she_ felt a little fear sometimes, and Jack made her feel safe. 

She didn't know if it was because he was a spirit or he was older. In the end, she just knew that things would be alright.

"Aren't you cold?" The spirit asked her.

It's true. She _was_ a little cold, and Jack certainly was not giving off any heat.

"Not really, just nervous, I guess." Katherine swung her arms by her side, skipping ahead a little bit.

Jack hummed. "Well-" 

He was cut off by a loud gasp from behind them. They all turned to look behind them at Fog who was staring at the rope in his hands. Or, part of the rope.

"Fog!" Almost William called. "Is everything alright?"

Fog said something, but he was too quiet and they couldn't hear him.

"What was that?"

Fog spoke louder. "It's the rope. It broke and I can't find the other end of it." 

"What!?" Mist cried. "But that rope was enchanted. There's no way it just broke like that!"

They all started murmuring. Katherine was starting to get apprehensive. Even with the light from the lantern, the shadows seemed to move and get closer towards them.

"Jack…" She whispered. Looking up at him, she saw that even he looked nervous, and that he was clutching his staff tightly.

He saw her scared expression, and that was all he needed for him to call out, "Everyone! Stick closer together and don't separate. I know you wanted to explore, but now would be a good time to turn back the way we came and find the rest of the rope."

No one argued with that, all confidence from earlier was gone.

All of them had combined into a huddle when the light from the lantern started to flicker out.

"Ah! No, the lantern!" Tall William cried out.

The last thing they heard was an unnatural screech, before everything turned pitch black

{~}

When Katherine opened her eyes, everything was dark. 

The tall trees blocked out the sky, preventing even the brightest of moonlight to pass through. 

"Hello!" She called. "Jack! Tall William! Anyone? It's Katherine!"

Silence answered her. She called out again, hoping that someone would answer.

When she still received no reply, she felt tears prick her eyes. 

When she had gotten lost the other night, at least she had the Moon to guide her, now though…

She heard something behind her. The snap of a twig and the rustling of leaves had her turning around sharply.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She could hear the quiver in her own voice.

She looked around frantically, until she sensed something behind her.

It felt...unnatural. like something that did not belong in this world. She could feel shivers down her spine, like someone had poured ice cold water down her back.

It was there. Right behind her. She felt like prey being stared at by a predator.

Amidst the fear, Katherine remembered something Ombric had once told her. She'd had a nightmare, something that was very rare in Santoff Claussen, but she had only recently arrived and had not been affected much by the magic of the village just yet like the children born there. 

Although she remembered nothing of her parents, she still had bad dreams about them back then. Not knowing what had happened to them allowed for her mind to come up with various scenarios as to what had happened. After one particular bad dream which ended up with Katherine waking up screaming, Ombric had told her some words that had stuck with her to this day.

_A six year old Katherine sniffled, her eyes had dried but she still felt upset._

_Ombric handed her a cup of hot chocolate. "Here, child. This will make you feel better."_

_"Thank you, Mr. Shalazar." She put her hands around the mug, feeling the warmth seep into her hands._

_He smiled faintly. "Come now Katherine. There is no need to be so formal, you are living here now, and I will always look after you. Just call me Ombric."_

_The little girl nodded. "Alright, thank you, Ombric." They waited in silence for a moment, before she spoke up again. "But… what if you aren't there when I need you?"_

_Ombric lost his smile, the little girl's fears striking a chord in his heart. But then he remembered something he had read about a long time ago. He thought that perhaps that might help Katherine._

_"Have you ever heard the legends of the Golden Age, by any chance?" When she shook her head he continued. "It was a time before even humans lived on Earth. It was said that humans roamed the constellations, living together in peace and harmony. Of course, there were things that threatened this time. Fear and discord tried to work it's way into the hearts of people. There were beings that existed to prevent the fear from spreading, like the Star Pilots with their Shooting Stars, and even a being made of light, able to purge the darkest of shadows._

_"But even they could not be everywhere. So, the people of the Golden Age taught their children how to protect themselves from the evils lurking in the constellations."_

_"What was that?" Katherine asked._

_Ombric smiled. "To hold hope, wonder, and dreams close to their hearts. Remember their happiest memories and the stories they were told, the fun they have always had and that if they believe, the light will always find them in time."_

_"The light?" She looked at him with a curious expression and wide eyes._

_"Yes. The light will always protect you, no matter where you are or what from._ "

Katherine began to slowly turn around. _The light will always protect me._

"I believe, I believe." She whispered.

She opened her eyes and beheld the embodiment of fear and terror itself. It was made of shadow and a dark substance. Jet black eyes looked at her like it was sizing up it's next meal. It opened its mouth to reveal several rows of razor sharp teeth, inches from her face.

It let out a great screech, that sounded like a thousand children crying out in fear and pain. It's long claw-like fingers reached out as if to touch her.

"I believe, I believe" Her breathing became erratic, heart rate speeding up too quickly.

It's hand was almost touching her when-

_FLASH_

A bright light filled the area, causing Katherine to close her eyes from the intensity of it.

It only seemed to last for a few seconds, and when she felt it was over, she opened her eyes again.

"Amazing." She breathed. 

The shadowy being was gone, and in its place were hundreds of little lights, like fireflies, but bigger and seeming to be made out of moonlight instead.

But it wasn't the lights she was staring at. 

It was the boy who stood before her. He seemed to be made out of mist and starlight, floating ever so softly over the ground. He had pure white hair, like Jack, but longer and less windswept. He wore ebony armour with little lights on it that looked like stars. His bright green eyes were staring intently at a broken wooden staff with a diamond tip on its end.

Oh, and did she mention, he glowed.

She was staring so much that, when he turned his gaze to her, she jumped up in shock.

She started sputtering, not sure what to say. Unlike the shadowy figure that was here earlier, this boy before her felt, although different and otherworldly, safe.

_'The light will always protect you.'_

Those words from so long ago came back to her, and she knew now that they really were true.

The boy came towards her, a curious expression on his face as he leaned in close. They looked at each other for a while, before the glowing boy smiled at her and leaned back. He held the dagger in one hand, and held the other outstretched towards her in invitation.

The glowing lights around them flew around in bright flashes, moving to form a trail through the trees that the boy motioned towards.

Realising that he wanted to lead her somewhere, she hesitated. She had been separated from all her friends, had no idea where she was, nearly got eaten by...something, and now a magical glowing boy wants to lead her somewhere else!

And yet? Ombric's words kept coming back to her, echoing over and over on her head.

After a moment's consideration, she looked the boy in the eyes, smiled and took his hand.

In that moment, surrounded by the endless darkness, she felt completely and utterly safe.

{~}

Jack was not having a good time.

After the light had gone out, everything had been plunged into darkness. It felt like a harsh force was tearing the group apart and, before he could do anything, he felt Katherine's hand slip from his.

When everything seemed to calm down, Jack found himself alone in the clearing where he had first met Katherine the night before. 

The trees were dark, eerie presences lurking within. Even the Moon's bright light seemed dim.

"Katherine? Katherine!"

No reply. Jack didn't know what to do, raking his fingers through his snowy white hair. 

Gripping his staff tightly, he flew up into the air, searching for Santoff Claussen. After spotting the village, he then looked around the forest below, trying to discern where any of the missing children had gone. When he saw nothing, he flew back down. 

He knew he should go wake Ombric, but he didn't like the thought of leaving the forest without the children.

He looked helplessly up to the Moon. 

"I know that I have asked you so many questions, and you have never answered them, but please," He begged, "Please, help me find those children and, if not let me find them, then protect them. Don't let them be all alone and afraid." 

He gazed at the bright orb, praying that just this once, that it would answer.

He waited for several minutes, and when it seemed like no answer would come, and he drew his gaze away in disappointment, he noticed that a small light had entered the clearing where he stood.

It was a curious little thing, darting from one place to another. When it moved, it left a small trail of smaller lights, disappearing as quickly as they came.

The light soon stopped in front of Jack, twirling around his head and then moving in front of him as if to say _'follow me! I know the way.'_

Was this…?

Jack looked up at the moon, it's glow seeming brighter than before. A smile graced the winter spirit's face.

"Thank you." He said, bowing his head slightly in thanks and respect, before following after the little light.

Although Jack did not see It, the Man in the Moon smiled back.

{~}

Ombric rubbed the side of his head, feeling a headache coming along. He had been reading for hours, hoping that there may be some clue in his old books as to what he was looking for.

The Golden Age was a long time ago, and there are few books and stories left on it, and even if he does have some, most of them are broken or unfinished. The warning he had been given earlier echoed in his mind.

_‘There is something in the woods. It’s new and dark. Shadows and fear.’_

The butterflies that delivered the message had been so distressed that, before he could ask any questions, had flown off out the window.

That had been in the afternoon. Now, a few hours after midnight, his tired eyes drooped low. He knew that he would find nothing here that he did not already know, and thus decided to get a few winks of sleep. 

As he exited the library, he noticed three moonbeams flying around outside. Although not completely uncommon to see them, Ombric had never seen them move around in such a manner. It was frantic and fast, darting from window to window, like they were searching for something. Eventually, one came to look through the window where Ombric stood, and immediately passed through the glass to stop in front of Ombric, who held out a hand for it to rest on.

Now, Ombric was a man of many talents and languages, he was the last living remnant of the great city of Atlantis, had founded and lived in this magical village for hundreds of years. But, if there was one thing he had never truly been able to study, it was the language of moonbeams and stars.

Thankfully, he didn't need to know much to get the gist of the message.

_‘Danger! Forest! Children!’_

The great wizard's eyes opened in shock and horror. Quickly asking the moonbeam to lead him to them, he sped off in the direction of the children, hoping he could make it in time.

Despite being an old man, Ombric was an extremely smart and clever old man, using magic to make it so he could move quick enough to keep up with the speeding moonbeam. Which, might he add, were _extremely_ fast- too fast for the human eye to see. Luckily, this moonbeam seemed to understand that the wizard could not keep up with it, and went instead at a much slower pace.

Fifteen minutes found him somewhere not too far from the forest's edge, just where the trees started to grow much taller and thicker. He had noticed a rope tied between the trees as he had come this way, realising that it had cut off at this point.

_Strange_ , he thought. Because this looked like an enchanted rope, never able to break unless intentionally cut. So either the children did this… or something else.

He turned to look towards the moonbeam, which hovered slightly ahead, where he saw in the distance a faint glow of moonlight. Moving at a much slower pace now, he and the moonbeam traveled towards the source of light.

Upon reaching it, he saw a ring of moonbeams surrounding the children, protecting them from whatever lay in the shadows. They were all there, except Katherine and Jack (whom Ombric believed was out here with them, given he had not seen the spirit on his way out, nor had he come to warn the wizard of this midnight outing). That was enough to make him go speeding off further into the forest, but he knew that if the moonbeams had been sent here, then the both of them would be safe.

Besides, the children here looked weary and crestfallen. Or, they _were_ until they spotted Ombric. Calling out his name in excitement and relief, the children gathered around him, embracing the ancient wizard in a giant hug. Ombric chuckled and patted their heads, assuring them that they were safe now. He could reprimand them for their foolishness later, instead giving them comfort where it was needed. 

After a minute or two, Jack flew into the clearing led by a moonbeam, the two looked a bit like they had been having some sort of race. (And if they were, the moonbeam won)

Even with a smile on his face, Ombric noticed that the tightness from it lessened when he beheld the wizard standing with the children.

Going over to him, the winter spirit asked, “Is everyone alright?”

“These ones are, yes. But Katherine has not arrived yet.”  
Jack lost his smile, and looked towards the other children, who were also looking at Ombric, who was looking at the strange trail of moonbeams that had entered from the right.

They soon began to join the others, lazily dancing about, staying close to the small huddled group in the centre. When the last moonbeam from the trail came into the centre, they all heard the light sound of small footsteps coming their way.

And, instead of the one figure they had originally expected, Katherine came into the clearing, holding the hand of a glowing boy in black armour.

The pair made their way the small group, the moonbeams coming closer towards them, as if drawn to them. Katherine was smiling, which immediately alleviated some of Ombric’s worries. Whoever this mysterious stranger was, they obviously haven't done anything to harm the girl.

When the pair finally reached them, Ombric saw Katherine’s eyes widen in delight, launching herself towards him and wrapping him in a huge hug. The rest of the children soon swarmed her, calling out her name in joy and Jack had regained his smile and ruffled her hair. 

Ombric looked up to thank whoever it was that had brought Katherine back to them. The boy was not looking at them, instead his gaze had gone to the moonbeams around him. It looked like they were talking to him, but if he understood, he did not say anything. Eventually, he did notice the old wizard staring at him, and his reaction was… perplexing.

The boy stared at him, luminous green eyes widening in alarm, as he jumped several feet into the air and dashed behind the nearest tree. 

Ombric was shocked speechless, as was everyone else in the clearing. The boy peeked shyly around the tree before quickly hiding again. If the boy was trying to hide his presence, he wasn't doing a very good job of it. Although his light had dimmed upon seeing Ombric, it kept flickering in and out, almost like he wasn’t sure how to control it.

It was strange, because Ombric was convinced that the boy’s presence felt _old_. And not old like the trees in this area or Big Root, old like older than even Ombric... 

The wizard was pulled out of his shocked reflection by the sound of Jack’s laughter.

“I didn’t know you could be so scary upon just one look, Ombric.” 

“Nor did I.” He replied.

“Um, Ombric, maybe you shouldn’t…” But Katherine had not spoken quickly enough, as Ombric had already made his way over to where the spirit (?) was hiding. 

Sure enough, the boy’s light dimmed even further, eventually reaching the point where he became invisible. Only the great rush of trees and the sound of the wind being disturbed gave any indication that he had flown away. A few moonbeams also flew away, up in the direction where Ombric assumed the boy had gone.

“Ombric! You scared him away. And I didn’t even get to thank him.” Katherine mumbled the last bit, looking quite dismayed.

Jack was laughing again, though it was more of a chuckle now. “Perhaps he is a spirit that only likes children? Adults _can_ be scary sometimes.”

“You mean all the time…” Petter grumbled.

Tall William looked at him disapprovingly. “Petter, you should know better than to disrespect your elders. Your parents are wonderful people.”

“Ha, you didn’t see our mother the other day when Petter broke the door with one of his spells again.” Sascha huffed.

Shaking his head at the exchange, he turned back to Katherine. “Do not worry, child. I am certain you shall meet him.” If his suspicions were correct, then it could be very soon. When Katherine nodded her head, looking a bit less miserable, he asked the question that was on his mind. “Tell me, did he ever give his name?”

“No, he never said anything. I only asked who he was, and he simply gave me a sad smile. I wasn’t in the mood to ask anything else.” She looked away.

“How did you come to meet him?” Normally he would say that it wasn’t every day you met a friendly spirit in the forest, however that seemed to be turning into a common occurrence for Katherine. The amount of shock and worry this girl causes, Ombric isn’t certain how he hasn’t been sent into an early grave.

“When the light had gone out, I found myself alone. Or, at least I thought I was. There was this shadowy...thing that came up to me. It was terrifying, and the sound it made! It sounded like hundreds of people screaming. Children screaming. I thought that it was going to eat me or something, but then a light filled the area. When I opened my eyes, the shadow was gone, and the boy was standing before me instead.”

“I, see.” So his suspicions were correct. That did not bode well at all. “You were very brave, all of you. But now it is time to get you home. We shall have a village meeting in the afternoon, as there are some important things I need everyone to hear.”

The moonbeams stayed with them until they reached the forest edge, flying off in various directions into the night sky.

He sent the children home, assuring them that everything would be fine now, and watched as Jack took an exhausted Katherine back into Big Root.

He looked up at the moon, losing its glow as the sky began to lighten.

It had been a long night, but it was over. Now was the time for the sun to rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	5. His name is North

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!!
> 
> First off, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been reading this so far. Especially StormyKat and their wonderful comments. It is things like that that make this a lot easier to write!
> 
> I wanted to post this earlier actually, but I have been very busy at home recently. Sorry!  
> This chapter was very fun to write. Mostly because it involves one of the biggest changes I've made in this AU. 
> 
> I will be saying now, that as the next few chapters come, events will happen very differently and will soon be really diverging from the books. Anyway, here I introduce the Bandit Prince himself!
> 
> Please Enjoy!!!

Chapter 5- His name is North

Not far from the great forest where that surrounded Santoff Claussen, a group of bandits had set camp. Fast asleep, they dreamed of their latest escapades. 

On the other side of the camp, slept the leader of this motley band of thieves.

This young man appeared to be around the age of eighteen or nineteen, with thick black hair and a black mustache. He was very tall and muscular, wearing bright red robes and big fur lined boots. Within reach of him were a pair of sabers of excellent craftsmanship. They were stolen. He also had two pistols lying next to those two sabers. They, too, were stolen.

In fact, you would not be wrong to say that pretty much everything this man had on him was neither bought nor given to him willingly. However, if there was one thing that he _did_ own, that would be his name.

For, indeed, this was Nicholas St. North, a man of great importance to this story. Even if he doesn't know that yet.

Although not someone who is unnecessarily cruel, he was still a bandit, a profession that does not exactly inspire chivalry. And North was the greatest of them all. ‘The Bandit Prince’, they called him. The most daring and fearless man in all of Russia. This was the man whom it was said had defeated an entire cavalry with a bent steak knife- whilst he was eating! He had grown up in the wilds, unaware of the idea of family and the safety of ‘home’.

Already, this man and his crew had plundered half of Europe, and was now dreaming of how to do the same to the next half. He and all the others were completely unaware of the moonbeam that had travelled down in search of this very man. It went from bandit to bandit, checking their faces before finally reaching its destination.

The moonbeams could not manipulate dreams, but they were very good at telling stories, especially when one was already asleep. In perfect Russian, this moonbeam began to tell its tale.

A while later, the rest of the bandits were awoken by the sound of laughing. Curious, they looked around, eventually coming to the realisation that the sound was coming from their leader. Now, North was not a man that you woke up, and his comrades knew that. The last man to have done so, ended up with a bullet in the eye and a saber in the gut.

Luckily, North’s horse, Petrov was an extremely brave and intelligent horse, and knew just what to do. Dropping the ends of his reins onto North’s face, the Bandit Prince woke with a cry. But instead of falling silent as one usually does after a dream, this man started laughing _louder_. Soon enough, he had grabbed his pistol and sabers, and jumped up onto the back of Petrov. With a great cry and a snap of the reins, horse and man were speeding off as North fired two bullets into the air, cheering and laughing as he went.

Not wanting to be left behind, the rest of the bandits grabbed their own horses and quickly sped off after their leader.

After all, wherever Nicholas St. North went, there was bound to be a grand adventure.

{~}

Not too far away, in the village of Santoff Claussen, all the residents had gathered inside the large meeting area of Big Root. Children and adults alike all sat in large chairs and sofas, looking at Ombric, who stood before them with a sombre expression. Jack Frost was also there, sat further away by the window. Ombric had asked him to be there especially, and Jack had to wonder what Ombric was about to say would have to do with him. He looked around and spied a few fairies also sitting around the place.

Over the time that he had been here, Jack began to notice them all over the village. Even though Santoff Claussen was a place of belief, it appeared that not all the residents could even see the fairies, as they were especially good at hiding their presences when they wanted to. Katherine seemed to be the only one to notice them besides Jack, and if Ombric saw them, he gave no indication that he did.

The old wizard cleared his throat loudly, and all murmuring and conversation stopped. “Thank you, all for coming here on such short notice. However, this is a matter of great importance and I need you to listen very carefully.” Everyone edged closer to the edge of their seats, all curious about what Ombric will say. “An ancient threat, that I had thought had long vanished before my time seems to have appeared once more.”

Whispers began, as neighbour looked to neighbour and frightened expressions appeared on people's faces. Jack grew alarmed, an uncomfortable feeling rising from within him. Even the few fairies looked unsettled, and one even decided to bury herself into Katherines hair in fright.

“Settle down, settle down.” Calmed Ombric. When everyone was silent again, he carried on, giving them a look that could be interpreted as _‘shut up and listen’._ “Now, some of you may have read the stories of what was known as the Golden Age. but I now have cause to believe that the Golden Agewas real, and the threat that destroyed it has awoken once again.” A few shocked gasps rang through the room. “For those who do not know, the Golden Age was a time long before humans inhabited this planet. When the Constellation families traveled the cosmos, living in peace and harmony. They say that it was the most beautiful thing you could ever lay eyes on. However, the Golden Age was threatened by beings called ‘fearlings’. These creatures fed off of the fear of the people of the Golden Age, and bright misery and ruin wherever they went. Eventually, the Constellation families sealed away the fearlings, trapping them in a vault on a barren planet.

“But their victory was short lived, as the fearlings broke out of the prison, stronger than ever, and led by one man. His name was Pitch Black, the Nightmare King, and he destroyed the Golden Age. one by one, the planets and their Constellations fell, until only one family- the Lunanoffs- was left. Fleeing on their fastest ship, the Moon Clipper, the family made their final battle above this planet. What really happened in that battle, I do not know. But the Nightmare King disappeared with his fearlings, and the Moon Clipper stayed in orbit of this planet, disguising itself as what we call the moon.”

Ombric fell silent, his story finished. No one wanted to break the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the room. The adults looked pale and shocked, the children curling up on themselves with worry, and most of the fairies had fled when the Nightmare King was mentioned. Only the one settled in Katherine’s hair seemed to be the one that stayed.

Katherine herself was trembling, but looked more collected than the others. Jack wondered if the creature she had seen last night was one of those ‘fearlings’ that Ombric had mentioned. 

Ombric’s tale was quite far fetched and almost unbelievable, but Jack knew it was true. After all, it was the moon that told him his name, or rather, a voice from the moon. 

After a long silence, Old William, the father of the William brothers’ asked, “If this threat really _is_ here, and is a danger to us, then what do we do against it?”

Ombric looked at him, something shining in his eyes. “We must not give into fear, for that is where Pitch Black and his fearlings gain power. I will not lie to you, it is your children who are most in danger, as the fearlings enjoy their fear the most. But do not forget that your fear will draw them close as well. For the meantime, stay on constant vigilance and be alert, but continue your lives as normal. Do not worry, I will do everything I can to protect you and this village. If you wish to ask any questions, then ask them, but now you may go.”  
With that he sat back down. Most people left, but a few stayed to ask their own queries. Jack believed that Ombric would want to talk to him, but decided to follow Katherine instead, who had dashed out of the room as soon as possible.

Jack was worried about her. When he brought her back to her bedroom last night, she had burst into tears. Neither of them had said anything, nothing needed to be spoken. So they just held each other, Jack not mentioning her tears and Katherine not complaining about the cold. They stayed there until Katherine fell asleep, tears all dried up. Jack had gently tucked her into bed and flew back up to his perch in the branches of Big Root. He did not feel like sleeping that night.

But now, after letting out all of her emotions, Jack knew it would be good for Katherine to put it all into words. Traversing his way around the warm corridors of Big Root, trying not to spread ice all over the place, the winter spirit realised how big this place was. Ombric _had_ said that Big Root was the largest tree in the world, but this place seemed even bigger on the inside. It’s high ceilings reached up and up, wooden staircases all over the place and doors that could lead to anywhere. It was stacked with books and old tomes, some stacked neatly and others strewn all over the place. Jack was surprised he hasn't gotten lost yet. Everything was made out of wood, but the candles and the light from outside made it bright. It felt warm in a comforting way. It felt like the kind of place you could call home.

He found her in the fiction section of the library, curled up next to the window. The fairy that was with her was flying around in circles, doing backflips, probably trying to cheer the little girl up. Katherine looked on with a faint smile, which grew bigger when she spotted Jack coming to sit next to her.

“Hey,” She said.

“Hey,” He replied. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I think so. It was just a lot of information, that’s all.” He knew that wasn’t all of it, so he waited until she spoke again. “That shadowy thing I saw… do you think it was one of those fearlings?” 

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Maybe. We’ll have to ask Ombric about that.” she nodded and fell silent again.

Then, “You’re not still planning on leaving at the end of the week are you?”

Jack snapped his head back to her, now with him having wide eyes. He had not given much thought to going back to his lake since he first mentioned leaving yesterday, and a lot had happened in between. Part of him still wanted to go there, see if he really did have some sort of life there before and what it was.  
But then he thought of Katherine and all the children of Santoff Claussen. He’d only known them for a short amount of time, but had already grown attached to them. Their childish antics and wide imaginations. Knowing that there was something out there that would wish them harm made him feel like he could never forgive himself for not being there to protect them.

He knew that, although she wouldn't admit it, Katherine was afraid. 

“No,” He said, “I’m not leaving. I’m going to stay here with all of you as long as you want me to.”

Katherines could light up a room. “Really?”

“Really.” She jumped over and hugged him, beaming as she did so.

“But, didn’t you want to find your memories? Your past?” 

“Well, I don’t even know if I _did_ have a past. And even if I did,” He cut her off as she opened her mouth, “I spent three years hanging around that place. If I didn’t find anything _then,_ why would I _now_? Besides, someone needs to make sure the kids have fun around here. Ombric is great, sure, but you guys need someone to really liven up the place.” Saying that last part, he summoned a bright blue snowflake, which drifted across and landed on her nose.

She laughed. “Thank you, Jack.” the fairy, who had been silently watching the exchange, now perked up and flew around their heads. “Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten you. Nice flying you were doing earlier.”

The fairy preened under her praise, landing in the palm of Katherine’s outstretched hand.

Jack looked at the little fairy. “So, who is your little friend?”

“This is Mikaela. Mika, this is Jack.” The little fairy smiled, fluttering up close to his face.

She was sound the length of Jack’s wrist up to his elbow. Her wings were like a birds’, covered in feathers and of a cobalt colour and she had black horns on her head, going a deep red at the tips. Her eyes were like the colour of the rainbow, never staying one particular shade. Her skin was a deep tan, covered in black swirls and patterns, and her vibrant red hair flowed past their shoulders.

Jack had never been up close to a fairy, only catching little blurs of them as they flew around. “Nice to meet you.” He greeted.

Mika seemed to say something too, but it was quiet and not in a language he had ever heard before. He assumed that she was also saying ‘hi’.

“I only met Mika recently.” Katherine started. “She was the first fairy I had ever come close to, as they are rather flighty. She was very curious and must have spotted me by the edge of the forest. I was just sitting on an old stump, reading a book, when this little fairy just comes and sits on the page I was reading!” She laughed. “It was quite the shock. I don’t know how to speak fairy yet, and they only really like the company of other fairies and spirits, so communicating was a little hard, but we seem to understand each other well enough. She played around with my hair a bit, seemingly entranced by the way the curls would spring back up when she pulled them. After a while, a few other fairies came along and started dancing around and playing with my hair. They did nothing malicious. No tricks or cruel jokes. They just played around, singing songs in their quiet voices. It was only when Ombric came over that they flew away. I was saddened at first, thinking that was the only time I would see them. But, to my surprise, Mikaela kept showing up and she has been following me around ever since. Oh, the only reason I know her name is that she pointed to the name in a book once. Apparently fairies can read and understand us quite well.”

Mika had landed back onto Katherine’s shoulder, nodding along with her story, smiling along the way. Jack couldn’t help but smile too. The girl certainly had a way with telling stories that just seemed to pull you in. 

“It seems like Ombric is in the habit of scaring spirits away.” He joked.

She giggled at that, but her smile soon sombred. “I wonder if that boy I met knows anything more about the Golden Age and those fearlings. He _did_ save me from one.”

Jack shrugged. “Who knows, if you ever see him again, you can ask him.”

“Yeah,” She agreed. “He was also accompanied by those lights that led everyone to Ombric. I wonder what they were…”

Suddenly, Mikaela jumped up off of Katherine’s shoulder, and dashed away. They didn’t have to think long on why.

“They were moonbeams,” A new voice joined them, “They serve the Man in the Moon, or so it is believed.”

Ombric walked towards them, leaning his wooden staff on a bookcase as he sat down.

“The Man in the Moon.” Jack mused. “It really _was_ him.”

Katherine looked at the winter spirit. “You know him?”

“Not really. Until Ombric’s story, I had always believed that it was just the moon itself.” He explained. “It was him that told me my name three years ago.”

“Did he say anything else?” Ombric asked.

A bitter look crossed his face. “No, nothing.”

Ombric hummed. “I suppose we should be very grateful. Those moonbeams and that boy gave us a lot of help the other night.”

“You still don't know who he is?” Katherine frowned.

The ancient wizard shook his head. “No, I am afraid not. However, I do believe that he may know something about or have a connection with the Golden Age.” As to how and what, Ombric wished he knew.

Katherine looked down. “I suppose I will just have to ask him when I see him next. After all, it doesn't seem like he would be very inclined to tell _you_ , Ombric.” She teased him.

The old man frowned at the jab. He still could not deduce why the spectral boy had reacted in such a way, the only spirits he had truly known to fly away from him were fairies. But fairies very rarely went near humans as a whole. Unless they’re Katherine.

Ombric had always wondered why spirits were so drawn to his charge. It had been that way ever since he had found her on the outskirts of the forest, unconscious, cold and alone. He had never found any trace of her parents, something he always regretted. But, Ombric worried for the girl. In all his years of living, he could safely say that the girl was one of his most treasured people. She brought life and life wherever she went, becoming a friend to both humans and spirits. And that worried him, because she had not been exposed to much of the harshness of the world, like the rest of the village. After her nightmares subsided and she had connected with the magic of Santoff Claussen, Ombric made sure that she would never have to know or experience any danger. But Katherine wanted to explore and see the world, meet new people and hear their stories. Perhaps Ombric should worry less about keeping the danger out, and more on ensuring that Katherine would not suddenly go diving into the deep end without gradually swimming there first.

In the end, all Ombric could really hope for, was that she could handle whatever would be coming for them when it did. And he knew that it would. Perhaps that was why he made what was in the box that he was bringing out of one of his giant sleeves.

Jack was the first to notice it. “What’s in there?”

Ombric set the simple wooden box down in front of them before taking off the top. Inside were two amethyst stones, tied separately on black leather cords. Katherine gasped, and Jack could not help but also admire their beauty. Their deep colour was of a violet hue, sparkling as the sun rays shining through the window shot through them.

“These stones are for the both of you.” Ombric explained. “They are for you to communicate and warn each other, should either of you be in danger. The stone is also said to ward off negative energy, but I can only put one enchantment on them, so I would not rely on it too much.”

“They're beautiful,” Katherine breathed. “Thank you Ombric”

Jack also echoed his thanks, and Ombric smiled. “I have only been able to get the enchantment right on those two so far, but will see about linking up more later on. And you needn’t worry, they work outside the village and over long distances.”

Jack frowned at that. He was certain that Ombric had heard quite a bit of their conversation, old wizard that he is, so Jack was confused as to why he thought any of them would be going far away any time soon.

When Jack expressed these thoughts out loud, Ombric got a strange look in his eye.

“Actually, Jack,” The old man said, “You _are_ going somewhere.”

_“WHAT!?”_ Younger pair shouted.

He held up his hand. “There is someone you need to seek out. Someone who will be of great importance to both you and all of us here.”

Katherine protested. “But-” 

Ombric shot her a sharp look, quietening her, but not lessening her glare in the slightest. 

Jack was extremely confused. Who was this mysterious person, and why did _he_ have to search them out? It wasn’t like he minded, but something about this didn’t seem right. “Ombric, who is this person you want me to find?”

Ombric turned his full gaze on the young spirit, staring him straight in the eyes. “Very few know her by her name, Seraphina, but you are most likely to know her by her other one. Jack Frost, I need you to find and seek the help of Mother Nature.”  
Jack only had one thought for that in that moment: 

_Oh, shit._

{~}

Deep within the confines of a dead black heart, a glimmer of life persisted. 

It did not know how long it had been there. Time was nonexistent in the endless emptiness. It felt cold and there was the presence of fear constantly pressing down on the small fragment that was left.

It used to be bigger- _he_ used to be bigger. But ever since that light, the pure one that felt so very safe to him, had disappeared, he was left alone with his thoughts.

Who are you? _I’m not sure._

Where are you? _Somewhere dark and foreign, I do not like it here._

What are you? _Human, I think. Or I was, anyway. I don’t know much anymore._

What were you? _A general…? Yes, that sounds right. The Golden General they called me. I can't recall why._

What is your name? _My name? I… I-_

Thoughts of a young girl, her features unclear, her muffled voice calling out “Father!”

_And what did I reply with?_

More images flashed by. Polished armour. A gilded sword. Flowers swaying in the breeze. A smile like sunshine. Stars. Planets. Voices, all unrecognisable, screaming out one name.

It sounded… right. Was it his? It must be. _Yes, I think I remember now. The fearlings, the door, my- my locket! Was it my fault?_

Scenes of destruction. Blood on stone. Tears falling from children’s eyes. Planets burning. Dead stars. Withered flowers.

_No,_ he recalled. _That wasn't me. It was that creature- that demon! The one parading around wearing his face! I will get my revenge. And I swear, you will wish you had never crossed me. I SWEAR IT!_

Deep within the confines of a demon's heart, Kozmotis Pitchiner made a vow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> NORTH! SERAPHINA! KOZMOTIS! Ahhhh, I'm so happy to be able to mention them now!
> 
> And Fairies! Yes I have added them. They shall become very important later. I wonder if you can guess what kind of Fairy Mikaela is?


	6. The Bear and the Bandit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is so short and took so long!
> 
> I have had a bit of trouble at home recently. It's not everyday that you call an ambulance on Christmas. So, home has been a bit hectic.
> 
> I hope your Christmas was less eventful and that you had a wonderful day. I wasn't too keen on this chapter, but... meh. Tell me what you think and if you believe anything could be changed or done better. 
> 
> I also changed the summary of this fic, because I didn't like the other one that much.
> 
> Anyway! Please enjoy!

Chapter 6- The bear and the bandit

Flying through the cold air afternoon sky, Jack’s mind runs through what it is he is supposed to be doing.

Mother Nature is older than Ombric, but no one knows when she actually came into being. She governs and rules over all nature and its spirits, making sure that order is kept, and she is not the kind of person you want to meet when she is in a bad mood. Which is her default mood, apparently. The only people she is ever described to being civil with are nature spirits, and even then she can get angry at them. 

Jack wondered why he had never met Mother Nature. If he was a winter spirit, then why hadn’t she even come to see him? Was he not even worth the time for her to visit?

The thoughts stung his mind as he landed on the peak of a mountain, not too far from the village. It was still further than he would have liked to have been, but he had been told that when Mother Nature gets _really_ mad, the weather reacts to that. Not that Jack was intending to make her mad.

He was just thinking about how he could get her attention, when he felt a small gust of wind and a voice come from behind him.

“I was wondering when you might come to actually seek me out, Jack Frost.” the woman’s tone did not seem to sound hostile, so Jack counted that as a win for now.

“Are nature spirits supposed to seek you out to meet you?” He asked as he turned around.

The young woman standing before him was beautiful. She had long black hair that drifted all the way down to the ground, shifting slightly in the wind. She wore a dress of pure white, under a light blue cloak that was lined with white fur. She wore no shoes and a simple white diadem rested on her head, contrasting with the mass of dark locks that it rested upon. Her pale skin glistened in the winter sun as her deep emerald eyes studied him.

“Not usually.” Her voice was as clear as crystal. No doubt that when she spoke, all around would turn silent to listen. “But you are a special case.”

Jack wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. 

“Special?” He asked incredulously.

She moved her gaze from him as she glided over to stand next to him, staring instead at the snowy peaks and the dark forest below.

“You are not just a spirit of winter, but _the_ spirit of winter. And normally that would mean that you come under my jurisdiction, but a long time ago, I made a deal with the Man in the Moon. The deal was that, when the Man in the Moon chooses, one of my spirits would be not only of nature, but also the Moon as well. And he chose you. I was furious at first. I had only just made you a winter spirit, and then Tsar Lunar decides that, nope, I don’t even get to keep you!”

Jack wasn’t sure how he felt about being passed from one higher being to another like some kind of property, but considering how worked up Mother Nature was getting, he did not want to argue with her.

“But, I eventually conceded. And you were brought under the jurisdiction of the Moon. Whatever that man had been planning all those thousands of years ago, it must be coming into effect soon. Which is probably why you are here, isn’t it?”

She looked back to him, but there was no anger in her gaze, simply curiosity.

“Actually,” he started, “It was not the Man in the Moon that asked me to find you. It was actually Ombric, the wizard who lives in Santoff Claussen.”

Her eyebrow lifted ever so slightly at that. “Ombric? It has been a while since I have seen him or heard that name. Tell me, does he still own that ridiculous pink hat with the yellow flower on it?”

The what? “I wouldn’t know, I only met him a few days ago. All I’ve seen him wear is blue.”

“I do hope he finally burned it.” She muttered to herself. “But anyway. Why has Ombric requested for my help?”

“There are these… things that attacked the children of Santoff Claussen recently. Ombric believes that they and their master have returned after thousands of years of being gone. He called them ‘fearlings’.”

Her emerald eyes widened as her face grew pale. _So she_ has _heard of them._

“Is… is he sure of this?”

“Yes. he believes so.”

Mother nature brought her hands together above her chest, eyes closed and a pained expression upon her face. “I had heard whispers, but I did not want to believe it.” She shook her head and looked back to Jack, a resolute look in her eyes. “What is it Ombric wanted of me?”

The winter spirit was inclined to believe that the woman before him didn’t just _know_ about the Golden Age, but he wasn’t going to bring that up. “He said he wanted to talk to you about these creatures, and if you had come across them before.”

“And, afraid of catching me in a bad mood, he sent you to find me.” She finished, a bitter tone lacing her voice. She stood silent for a while, watching as snow began to drift in the rising wind. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Very well. I shall meet with him, and tell him what I know. But only what is important! I shall not go into any… unnecessary details.”

He was not sure what to make of that last part, but agreed nonetheless. “Thank you, Mother Nature.”

She smiled. “Please, call me Seraphina. Titles are a bore, and you are still a nature spirit. I was wondering, actually, if you- hm? Jack, is your pendant supposed to glow like that?”

Jack was confused for a moment, but then remembered the pendants that Ombric had given him and Katherine. He looked down and, sure enough, it was glowing. Ombric told the two of them to only use them when in danger, so that must mean-

“It’s Katherine! Santoff Claussen is in danger!”

Seraphina moved her head quickly to the direction of the village, eyes narrowing. “There is a familiar presence in that direction.” She growled.

Without saying anymore, a wind whirled up around them, and sent the two travelling in the direction of the village.

{~}

Katherine felt helpless.

After Jack had left, she had gone to read through a few books and study some spells. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually she heard a lot of shouting and the slamming of doors. She rushed out of her room, only to find all of the villagers had locked themselves inside Big Root and were now staring outside the window. They all had varying looks of shock and horror, and the young girl started to get anxious herself.

Moving to one of the windows on the second floor, Katherine saw a most unusual sight. Ombric with his great staff and an unfamiliar young man wielding swords, were engaged in battle with… the bear!?

_But that can’t be! Why would the bear be attacking Ombric? And who is that strange young man?_

Steeling herself, Katherine grabbed a spellbook from the shelf and opened the window. She stood up on the ledge, peering down at the battle below.

Ombric stood at a distance, spouting spells at the large animal, trying to stop it from moving too much. The young man, garbed in red, was swinging his twin swords in large graceful arcs, getting in quite a few good hits. Unfortunately, that meant that the bear was entirely focused on him, as the young man was closest to it. After one hit got particularly close to its eye, the bear growled and charged at an alarming speed. 

No! Katherine knew that the young man would have no time to move out of the way. He was looking tired, and his arms hung loosely at his sides. 

Katherine, barely even registering what she was doing, flipped open the spellbook. Miraculously, the tome brought her right onto the page of a shield spell. Deciding to think on that wonder later, the girl put all her concentration and belief into that spell, praying that it would do _something._

_CRACK!_

The sound brought her to opening her eyes which she hadn’t even realised she’d closed. A bright yellow barrier had suddenly appeared in front of the young man. It had cracks moving outwards from where it appeared the bear had slammed into it, making it look like a spider web.

_Did_ I _do that?_ Katherine could not believe it! Never in her life had she been able to summon such magic before. She looked towards Ombric, confused. It could not have been her, but it was not the same colour as what the old wizard’s was usually like. Ombric’s magic was always of a dark blue, like his favorite robes. She had never seen his magic take on a yellow colour.

When she locked eyes with her guardian, she saw that he was staring at her with shock and awe. Feeling slightly nervous, she simply waved at him with a sheepish smile. But instead of looking angry, Ombric developed a proud grin on his face, nodding at her before turning back to look at the bear. Although she was still anxious and panicking slightly, Katherine also decided to look back to the bear, reasoning that she could think on this revelation later.

The large animal growled and then let out a great roar, causing all who heard it to cringe and cover their ears. Never had they heard such a primal and rage filled sound. The bear then turned to take another bash against the golden wall in front of it. Again and again, it slammed against the great barrier, causing more cracks to develop. Ombric kept firing spells at it, but none of them seemed to be doing much. Finally, the barrier collapsed and the bear roared once more. The young man had taken to diving out of the way and in front of Big Tree. He brandished his swords in front of him, but Katherine could see from her perch that he was limping on one leg and was covered in bleeding gashes and bruises. Katherine flipped through her book, looking for something that may help, when the idea of trapping the bear came to her. Just as she thought that, a page containing a spell to hold something in place appeared. This was exactly what she needed! Just like before, she chanted the spell under her breath and poured all of her belief into it. She felt a warmth rise within her, moving all the way to her fingertips. But, just as soon as it came, the power soon disappeared. 

A small box like yellow barrier had begun to take shape around the rampaging bear, but it was weak and flickering, allowing the beast to smash right through it. Katherine fell to her knees, panting. She felt exhausted and didn’t have the strength to pick herself back up. She had spent too much energy on the first spell without realising! Now, all she could do was watch helplessly as the bear that was once the village’s mentor charged forward with fury towards Ombric and the young sword wielder.

If only she were stronger! “Ombric!” She cried, tears beginning to fill her wide eyes. The two men, both young and old, held up their weapons in defense. The black beast was looking right at them, charging until…

“ENOUGH!” A woman’s voice cut through the air. Great weeds and thorns erupted from the ground, twining together and wrapping around the large bear. It struggled for a while, snapping and snarling at the plants with offense, until the greenery gave the animal a giant squeeze, making it pass out.

A woman appeared before it, garbed in winter colours with long black hair flowing down from behind her. Her piercing green eyes flitted up to look at Katherine before looking back at the beast before her.

Katherine felt unnerved and exposed under that gaze, and gave an involuntary shiver. She then realised that snowflakes had started to fall around her, one in particular falling on her nose. She looked to her left to find Jack sitting on one of the branches, looking down at the woman below with a frown on his face. Noticing her stare, the winter spirit looked up at the little girl and gave her a smile, offering his hand. She took it, realising that he wanted to take her down. Keeping a hold on her book, she landed softly on the snow behind Ombric and the young man, taking in their appearances.

Ombric looked extremely disheveled, with his robes askew, missing his hat, and having a large set of claw marks on his arm. He appeared fine otherwise. The young man looked… a bit worse. He was covered all over with large scratches, one in particular was bleeding heavily from his leg. He was leaning heavily on his swords, breathing heavily as he looked at the bear and the woman with a face that screamed _‘what the hell is going on?’_

She’d have to save introductions and explanations for later, as the woman, whom Katherine assumed was Mother Nature, turned to look at them.

“Ombric,” She began with a stern voice, “Your bear has been possessed.”

The old man gave her a look. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.” 

She narrowed her eyes, but Ombric simply stared back with a blank face. “You are losing your touch, old man. I thought that this place was supposed to be untouchable.”

“Untouchable against things that I know about. Whatever has taken over the bear is obviously something I have never seen before. Something _otherworldly_ , perhaps?”

“You do not understand what you speak about.” She spat.

He raised an eyebrow. “Then by all means, Seraphina, enlighten me.”

Seraphina opened her mouth, but was cut off by the young man beside her. “Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone noticed the black smoky thing coming from the bear?” 

He was now looking white as a sheet, as he raised his sword to limply point at the shadowy outline of a tall figure. It seems that everyone had been too enraptured by the verbal sparring match going on in front of them to take notice until the man pointed it out. Even Jack stiffened beside her when his icy blue eyes gazed upon it. 

Everyone fell silent as the form of a man appeared in front of them. His skin was a sickly grey colour, allowing his bright golden eyes to stand out and glare menacingly. His black hair was slicked back allowing one to see narrow and pointed features. He towered over them, clad in black armour which was dark as pitch.

He analysed them carefully, a cheshire grin spreading along his face. “Well, well. Isn’t this a surprise?” His voice was smooth and dark, but caused fear to settle over everyone in his presence. Katherine felt like she wanted to grab a light and hide until she felt safe again.

Seraphina’s voice rose up to challenge the man. “It is you, isn’t it?” Her voice was filled with venom and loathing, the kind of tone that made you want to cry whilst running away. “The Nightmare King, Pitch Black!”

He laughed. “Oh, how I have longed to hear someone mention that name again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	7. Pitch Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this has taken so long!
> 
> I am fairly certain that life is out to get me, as nothing has been going well so far.
> 
> All I can really say, is that some chapters are going to take a while and may be really short, but please don't worry! I shall not abandon this story unless, well, let's not think about that.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter 7- Pitch Black

Jack wasn’t quite sure what to think when the crazy maniac showed up.

He emanated an aura of fear and contempt, making Jack’s hair stand up on end. The winter spirit knew that this man was dangerous, but something about that man’s smirk made Jack really want to just punch the guy in the face. Seeing the look on Seraphina’s face made him believe that she was thinking along the same lines. A cold expression had spread across her face, and her eyes held a killing intent. Jack knew without a doubt now, that these two knew each other from a _long_ time ago.

The Nightmare King swept his golden gaze over them, lingering on each one with a hard stare. Eventually, he went back to the woman in front of him, and he frowned as if trying to remember something. They both stared at each other for a long time, neither backing down, as everyone else held their breaths.

Pitch tilted his head to the side. “Why do you seem familiar? Where have I seen that face before?”

“It should be familiar.” Seraphina hissed. “But not to _you._ ” 

As she spat out the last word, Pitch grinned with a knowing look in his eye. “Aah, yes. I see it now.” He leaned in closer. “What was that name again? Nerissa? No, no it was… Larissa! Yes that sounds right.” He leaned back again, analysing her. “You look like her, but the face and the hair are not quite the same.”

Seraphina had clenched her hands into fists by this point. “ENOUGH! You have no right to speak that name! And you have no right to parade around in that body, using that face as if it were your own.”

Jack wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but some things began to piece together into his mind already. And he was not liking the results. Ombric was looking at them with an indiscernible expression, yet Jack knew that he had pisces together most of the story by now anyway. Katherine looked absolutely terrified from where she was holding onto his arm, he shifted himself so that he would be standing further in front of her in case Seraphina did actually decide to punch this guy. The young, unfamiliar man beside him looked absolutely done with life. He just stood there, looking on as if his entire world had just exploded and gone up in flames before his very eyes. Jack couldn’t help but pity the poor guy.

The Nightmare King simply laughed. “And what makes you think I would ever give this up? No, I have had far too much fun as it is.” A twisted grin appeared on his face.  
Finally, Seraphina snapped. With a great scream, the Mother of Nature swung her fist and punched Pitch Black in the face. It seemed that the tall man did not expect this, as he made no move to dodge it. Jack thinks he might have heard a snap as the man’s head whipped to the side, and Jack couldn’t help but wince at the sound. Mentally, he took note to _never_ piss off Mother Nature.

Pitch seemed to have the same idea when he stumbled back a bit, but he eventually recovered and a look of fury was sent in Seraphina’s way. She held her head high, unwavering under that stormy gaze, but Jack could see that her hands were trembling. She had already lost her cool once, Jack did not want to see what would happen next. As Pitch stood back up tall again, the winter spirit lifted his staff in defense, as the tall being summoned a large scythe in his hand. Apparently he had had enough of the talking. Everyone one around braced themselves. Ombric brandished his staff, Katherine, despite looking completely worn out and terrified, opened her book, Seraphina summoned large vines and thorns from the ground, and even the young stranger lifted his twin sabre’s a bit higher as well. 

Pitch lifted the scythe high above his head and… was completely thrown to the side like a ragdoll by a bright light. Everyone gaped as the Nightmare King bounced a few times on the snow before finally stopping, face planted in the white substance. No one knew where this light had come from, it was so fast they didn’t even see it.

Jack lowered his staff as the light dimmed a bit, revealing the boy that had saved Katherine in the woods a while back. His ethereal green gaze was set upon the form of the man that he had just unceremoniously tossed aside. Seraphina gasped loudly. 

“Are you…?” The boy looked towards her, a strange look in his eyes. 

Before Seraphina could finish her sentence, a yell was heard from the limp form of Pitch. He stumbled back up to his feet, hair and clothes disheveled. He look ready to commit murder, and Jack was quite certain that he was going to do just that. But, much to Jack and pretty much everyone’s surprise, the tall man simply growled and melted into a shadow, darting away into the dark. The boy made to go after him, but Seraphina’s yell made him pause.

“Wait, Nightlight!” She ran up to him, making as if to grab his hand, but he stumbled back with a guarded expression. Mother Nature stopped, and the two stared at each other a while. The glowing boy’s eyes darted to where Pitch had gone, and silently jogged a few paces before taking to the air, soon looking like nothing more than a star in the sky.

Seraphina’s hand dropped to her side, and her head bowed down low. Everyone was quiet, no one willing to break silence, even as the sun began to rise. 

Eventually, she turned around, the sun’s golden rays shining around her in a soft halo. A sombre and lost expression adorned her face. She lifted her deep emerald gaze to address them all.

“I cannot tell you everything.” She started quietly. “But I will make things clear for you, so that you may understand. Afterwards, there is something I must ask you to do for me.”

Ombric stepped forward. “Very well. I thank you for this.”

Seraphina huffed. “You should tend to your wounds and everyone else's first, before someone collapses. I must speak with Jack whilst you do so.”

Jack straightened up at this and followed when she signaled him to join her at the forest edge. Before he could do so, however, he felt a tug on his cloak. Looking down, he saw Katherine’s big grey eyes staring up at him. Without either needing to say anything, the two embraced each other in a hug, and held on tight. It didn’t last long, and Katherine eventually moved away with a watery smile. She was a brave girl, and Jack knew she would be fine, but he also knew that she also needed the comfort after such a long night. 

Promising to talk with her later, Jack left Katherine and made his way over to Seraphina. He saw that Ombric and the young man, who had given up on standing and had decided to just sit on the ground, were discussing something quietly at a distance from everyone else. The bear, to Jack’s surprise, was breathing and simply looked like it was asleep. Whatever Pitch had done to it, it seemed did not have any lasting damage that Jack could see.

Seraphina was sitting on the stump of a tree, looking up at the sky with a forlorn expression. Anyone to look at her could tell that her thoughts were not happy ones. Jack approached her carefully, smiling politely when she turned to look at him. She returned the smile, but it was tight and did not reach her eyes.

“I suppose you may have figured out a few things at this point already.” She started.

The winter spirit inclined his head. “I think so, but there are still some things that…”

“Need clearing up?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She patted to a stump near to hers, silently indicating for him to sit down. When he did so, they both went quiet again. Seraphina, because she was not sure what to say, and Jack, because he was not sure what she was going to say.

Eventually, she started again. “The things I say, I may repeat to the others later, but there are some others that I specifically want only _you_ to know. So please,” She looked him in the eyes, “Swear you will not speak of them before and I after I have spoken to Ombric. There is only so much he should know. For now.”

Jack was confused by this, but agreed nonetheless. “...I swear it.”

She lowered her head in thanks. “Had you not come looking for me, I may have simply told Ombric nothing, and stayed on neutral ground. But… I do not think I can do that completely now.” She cleared her throat, straightening up as she did. “I am from the Golden Age, as you may have guessed. I was born near the end of it, during the time when the fearlings were finally being pushed back. I was seven when it fell completely, and watched helplessly as worlds were ravaged and people died with all sense of light being devoured from them. My mother was a noblewoman, and was very close friends with the Tsarina, so we visited the palace a few times. My… father, he was a general. They called him the Golden General, as it was him that led the Golden armies against the fearlings and stood unwavering before them.” She smiled wistfully. “I always looked forward to seeing my father again, as he would visit me and my mother whenever he could. We were happy then, thinking that everything would be fine once the war was over.

“We were fools. My father had become known by not only our allies, but our enemies too. They hated him, and wanted revenge. So, they went after what he held most dear: family. I was playing around in one of the shuttles outside when it happened. Fearlings had swarmed our home, and I could only watch as everything I knew was swallowed in fear and shadow. My mother must have done something, as I soon found that the shuttle I was in was flying away, and nothing I did could stop it.”

Seraphina lowered her head, emerald eyes glistening with tears. Jack did not know what to say. He knew that the Golden Age had ended horribly, engulfed in darkness, but he had no idea that such things could happen _during_ that time. The winter spirit was at a loss, and merely held out his hand in a sign of comfort for the grieving woman.

Gingerly, she took it, not even seeming the slightest bit bothered by the cold. Although, that could just be because she was the Mother of all Nature. 

She shook her head, her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders like ink. “A few years passed, and I eventually found myself here. On Earth. I met a few spirits at that time, most of which are gone now, but I found my way. Eventually, I became Mother Nature and ruled over all of nature and its spirits. A few centuries later, I was greeted by moonbeams, who had come from the Man in the Moon. he knew who I was and where I was from, and told me how the Golden Age came to fall, and who made it do so. It was then that we made a deal. The one that allowed _him_ to watch over you instead of _me_. I will not tell you why, as I believe that that is his MiM’s job, not mine.”

Jack frowned. “But he has never spoken to me before, why would he now? I can’t speak moonbeam.”

“There is one way, and I shall speak of it later. But first, I must ask a question.” She looked at him again. “Would you like to meet the other seasonal spirits?”

_Wait. What?_

Of all the things Seraphina might have asked, that certainly was not what Jack was expecting. “I didn’t know their were other seasonals. It’s not like _anyone_ had approached me before I came to Santoff Claussen. And the first person I ever spoke to wasn’t even a spirit!”

This caused her to properly smile. “Of course there are other seasonals. They just tend to avoid each other out of courtesy. It is not seen as polite to interrupt another nature spirit's work without proper reason. It is why the winds try to keep you separate by pulling in the directions of winter when spring is arriving.”

Jack had always wondered why that was, and hearing an explanation certainly made things a lot clearer. Sensing his thoughts, Seraphina continued.

“There is much to be said, and I would love to explain it all to you, but we have not the time right now. I understand if you are upset with me for never sending anyone to speak with you or even going myself for the past few years, but for now, please think about my question. I will see you later.”

With that, she stood up and left in the direction of Big Root, leaving Jack alone with his swirling thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	8. What is seen as strange is ordinary, what is seen as ordinary is strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an apology for the previous chapter, I present you THIS!
> 
> As opposed to chapter seven, I loved writing this chapter. It was so much fun! So much fun, in fact, that it has properly gotten me back into writing the basis for my novel. Which probably isn't the best idea. School is starting again online in a few days and I'm studying English, History and Drama, which are all essay subjects. I have also decided to take on another diploma alongside that so... my poor keyboard!
> 
> But hey, as I am on a writing high, I spent all day on this and produce 3,500 which, for me, is pretty damn good. But I have rambled enough, with Covid on the rise again, I implore that you please stick to the restrictions in your areas to not only keep yourselves safe, but your loved ones too!

Chapter 8- What is seen as strange is ordinary, what is seen as ordinary is strange

Ombric’s brow was furrowed in deep thought.

Many things had happened recently, and his head was starting to hurt from trying to think too hard on such events. The villagers had started to leave Big Root and, sensing everyone's melancholy mood, had decided to quietly leave for their homes and rest after the long night. 

Ombric heard a great sigh from beside him. He looked down to see Nicholas St. North sat on the snowy ground, looking completely exhausted. They were silent now, but the two had been able to make quick introductions after Pitch had vanished. The young man had looked like the whole world had just imploded before him, and Ombric could not help but agree. Seraphina had a _lot_ of explaining to do.

“Now what?” The Russian man asked. He had an extremely lost expression on his face.

“We wait.” Ombric looked towards where Seraphina was waiting, and then towards Jack and Katherine. “You have not had much contact with magic, I assume. I’m surprised you do not seem too worried about it all.”

North huffed. “I have had a very strange night. It _all_ involved magic, so I would be a fool not to believe it. It’s gone past the point where I thought it was just a dream, these scratches I got from that giant beast seemed to prove it.”

He spoke in a very resigned tone, letting his head fall back on the ground with a thump as he looked up at the sky.

“I must thank you. Without your help, I believe that the situation would have ended up a lot worse a lot more quickly.”

“Ha! I believe we should be thanking the scary lady who showed up at the last second. It doesn't sound very fun, being eaten by a bear.”

The old wizard had to agree. They probably would have died had Seraphina not shown up. Thinking back on it, he also remembered Katherine and the shield she was able to summon up. It was truly a miracle! Never had he met someone who had been able to do magic that powerful at such a young age. None, except himself, of course.

Ombric could not help but feel proud, as he thought back on the great skill that Katherine had wielded. No doubt that she would only get a lot stronger from here on out.  
Looking over at the young girl, he noticed Jack was just leaving. Katherine was looking down at the book she held, a curious expression on her face. Ombric was curious as well. He did not remember ever teaching Katherine a shield spell of any kind, meaning that she must have gotten it from that book she held.

Magic books were fickle things. There are two kinds of magic books. The first are ones that can be used by anyone, in any way. They are much like ordinary books, with just the instructions for the spell, the description and the incantation.

The second are ones that can be wielded only by the person it has bonded itself to. These books can be described as having a mind of their own, bringing its owner to the page that they think about. They also contain extremely powerful spells in them, all unique to each book. But these books are rare, and Ombric only has a few in his library. Most of them are bonded to him, but there is one that never did. The last Atlantian could only wonder if Katherine had come across such a book.

Noticing her guardians stare, Katherine turned to look at him and gave a tired smile. As she slowly made her way over, Ombric could see exhaustion weighing her down. Her magic may be powerful, but that does not make it any less taxing.

“Ombric.” She greeted.

“Katherine, are you alright?”

She swayed a little. “Yes, just a bit tired.” she looked over to North, who had sat back up. “Thank you, for helping us.” 

The young man flushed at the praise. “Uh, no problem.”

She smiled, and held out her hand. “My name is Katherine.”

He took her hand. “Nicholas St. North.”

She grinned and sat next to him. “A pleasure to meet you, mister North.”

North looked as if he had never been given such courtesy in his life, and was looking quite bemused. To save him from further embarrassment, Ombric interrupted.

“Katherine, may I see the book you are holding?”

The young girl handed him the heavy tome. It was a beautiful indigo colour, with golden swirls and patterns covering it. On the front, in big bold letters were the words _‘Volentes Astra’._

This was indeed the book he had been thinking about, and, just to make sure, he tried to open it. True enough, the book would not budge, indicating that it already belonged to another.

He smiled, and handed the book back. “This is a very special and unique book, Katherine. Treat it well and keep it close, and it will certainly serve you well.”

Katherine held the book close to her, smiling softly.

“Now!” The old man clapped his hands together, startling the two on the ground. “I suggest we head inside and clean up those wounds of yours, North. Whilst we do so, you can explain how you got here and I shall clear some things up for you.”

Nodding their agreement, Katherine and North got up from the snowy ground and followed the wizard inside the now empty Big Root.

{~}

Heavy snow fell outside, blocking out any path or sight beyond it. The howling wind brought little comfort to the occupant inside the dark cave.

A glowing boy in black armour sat at the end of the cave, knees up to his chest and his head clutched in his hands. He looked to be in great pain.

When he had first been told by the moonbeams to go protect the village, he thought little of it. It was simply that someone needed help, and he was asked to give it. It felt… right, doing it.

It had turned to night and the forest was covered in shadows. The bright moon was hidden behind clouds, and so the moonbeams that had accompanied the starlit boy flew down to illuminate the trees. The boy had gone down to the darkest part, his glow repelling the shadows that got close. As he wondered, he heard a cry. It was distant, but he heard it nonetheless and went racing towards its source.

The young boy had seen many Small One’s on his travels during his short time in this world, but the girl he saw that night was unlike any other. He felt drawn to her, like she was someone whom he should stay close to. He felt magic coming from her, wild and powerful, but not yet tamed.

He had little time to dwell on the girl, however, as he beheld what it was that stood before her. He had seen these creatures before, but never so close. They were familiar, but he could never tell why. It oozed fear and suffering, surrounding the area with its dreadful presence. The spectral boy was unaffected by it, but the little girl was.  


_‘Fearlings’_ , the moonbeams around him whispered, and he nodded as that name clicked into place. Gripping his staff, the boy flew straight towards the fearling, stabbing it with the diamond tip. The result caused a bright light to emerge, blinding the small girl behind him.

When the light dimmed, the spectral boy found that his staff had broken. Sighing, he took the dagger from the end and tossed aside the two pieces of wood. He soon found himself leading the small girl back to where the other Small Ones were. He assumed her name was Katherine, as that was what they cried when they saw her.

The spectral boy felt relief swell within him at the sight of all the Small Ones safe. He felt another presence there as well, like snow and ice, but it was friendly and did not seem to hold any malice. The boy soon found his gaze settling upon a youth with snow white hair and pale skin. He held a wooden staff and was smiling softly at the group of Small Ones. the boy also sensed something else about this youth, it was like the faint presence of something else, almost feeling like...death.

An uncomfortable feeling came over the boy, and, curious, he stepped forward to investigate further.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Tall One had finally noticed him. While the spectral boy had come across many Small One’s and had delighted in their presence, he could only say the opposite for the Tall One’s. They did not appear threatening nor did they seem evil, but there was something about them that put the boy on edge.

Sometimes, he would make his presence known to the Small Ones, and play with them in the snow. However, as soon as a Tall One showed up, the boy would tense up, and prayed that he was not seen. The Moon seemed to shine in his favour, as the Tall Ones never seemed to notice him. He was never quite certain if he truly became invisible or the Tall Ones were just plain stupid.

Whatever it was, whenever a Tall One came close, that same feeling washed over the boy, and he soon found himself flying away. 

This, of course, is exactly what happened when the Tall One with the long beard came close to him. After a small game of ‘hide and please don’t seek’, the spectral boy found himself amongst the clouds.

After some time (he is never sure how long, time never seemed to matter much to him), the boy found himself dancing on top of clouds underneath the comforting watch of the moon. He had discovered that, upon touching the clouds, they became tangible and stayed that way until they dispersed. He had taken it upon himself to see how many clouds he could use this ability on.

Now, most people would find this next situation odd and would be likely to stare in awe, shock, wonder, etc. But not this boy.

You see, this spectral boy simply looked on in faint curiosity as a group of horses galloped past him. This would not be so strange had they not been running across the clouds chasing after a few laughing moonbeams. In fact, the rider at the front of this parade seemed to be laughing along with them, his long red coat billowing in the wind behind him.

When the riders’ and the boys’ eyes made contact, the spectral being simply smiled and waved as the man went past. The man, too caught up in his wonder and laughter, did not seem to notice the oddity of a glowing boy dancing atop the clouds, simply responded in kind and sped off into the distance.

The boy had noticed that the man and his company were Tall Ones, and had hid from the others as they rode past, but he did not feel the need to do so in the presence of that strange leader. His presence felt kind and held the potential for many things, despite laughing like a lunatic as he rode upon some clouds whilst holding two pistols in the air.

The boy reasoned that the people of this planet were very strange indeed. He continued his game, idly musing on the things he had seen on his travels, when a very familiar presence made itself known.

Of all the things in this world that they boy had come across, this presence would be most familiar above all others. And why wouldn’t he? He had woken up surrounded by it after all. 

Much like a fearlings, this presence was full of cruelty and torment, but to a greater scale. It was the kind of presence that the boy most certainly did not want to go near. And yet, it also seemed to be coming from the direction of that village where Katherine is from. Deciding quickly, he sped off in that direction, flying as fast as he could. Perhaps too fast, in fact, as he soon found himself slamming into the source of that strong presence. He reasoned that slamming into the tall, shadowy being was better than slamming into someone else.

The Tall One (if he could even be called that, this guy was a giant) pulled his face out of the snow and snarled at the boy. He gripped his dagger tighter, ready for a fight… that never came.

The Nightmare King (that is what the moonbeams referred to him as) melted into shadow and sped away. Not wanting him to completely escape, the boy took to flying after him, but not before a voice called out.

“Wait, Nightlight!”

As soon as those words were uttered, a splitting pain rose within the boy's head, and he did the only thing he could think of in that moment: flee.

All thoughts of chasing after the Nightmare King had vanished, all of them replaced by the urge to just _get away_. Which leads us to the present, with the spectral boy hiding in a cave, waiting for the pain to subside. He wasn’t really sure where he had gone, but he had little care on the matter for the moment, as one word constantly echoed in his head.

_Nightlight._

Was it a place, a thing or a person? The boy could not tell. The only thing he was sure of was that it was important, but he couldn’t tell why. It was there, on the edge of his mind, but just too far out of reach.

Unnoticed by the boy, the moonbeam within his dagger began to sing softly. The moonbeam had noticed that the spectral boy was in pain and had tried to glow in comfort, but the boy seemed completely stuck in his own head. So, it decided to sing a little tune instead. It was a song that all moonbeams knew, for they had all heard their Tsar Lunar sing at least once. He did not sing it often, only when he was feeling particularly lonely or down.

The spectral boy was interrupted from his thoughts by a soft lullaby. Intrigued, he noticed that the sound came from the moonbeam within his diamond dagger. The tune was soft and serene, the words sparking a thousand emotions.

_**Nightlight, Nightlight,**_  
_**Sweet dreams I bestow,**_  
_**Sleep tight, All night,**_  
_**Forever I will glow**_

The pain in the boy's head subsided as the tune repeated itself. Eventually he began singing along, the song unheard by none but the occupants in the cave. 

It all seemed to make sense to him now, as Nightlight sang his song alongside a moonbeam, relief and calm settling over him once more.

{~}

North sat in a comfortable blue armchair whilst holding a mug of hot chocolate. Now, if someone in his company had asked him, he would vehemently deny that he had a sweet tooth. But, as someone who had very little growing up, the small delicacies were always seen as a luxury for North. And this hot chocolate was _heavenly._

Truly, the young man never imagined he would ever feel comfortable sitting in a giant tree.

After having a strange dream, riding over clouds, meeting a really beautiful lady, watching as his men got turned into stone, fight a possessed bear and then learn that magic really _did_ exist, North's thoughts were surprisingly calm. It did not help that he spent most of it laughing like a maniac.

He sighed and rubbed his head. It had been a long night. Luckily for him, Ombric was very good at explaining things, and everything seemed to make a bit of sense. (Not really, he just spent most of his time nodding along, as if he understood)

Apparently, Santoff Claussen had been around for hundreds of years, completely hidden from the outside world. The strange events of today involved some Pitchy guy who killed a bunch of people thousands of years ago.

Huh. He's still surprised he got that much.

Anyway, the tall scary lady who saved his ass earlier is apparently supposed to explain even _more_ things. 

Katherine was his favourite person he has spoken to today. She hadn't explained _anything_. She simply smiled at him, cleaned some of his wounds and gave him a hot chocolate. She was polite too. Katherine was the kind of girl that you simply couldn't help but smile at.

Perhaps it was also because she reminded him of another child he met a few years ago, just before he decided to leave the Cossacks...

But enough reminiscing. He turned his gaze to where he saw Katherine curled up in her chair reading through her book. Or, she was. She'd fallen asleep at this point, her book laid open over her chest.

North smiled and got up from his chair. Reaching for a blanket, he gently laid it over the sleeping girl. It was people like Katherine, the innocent, that made him make his own band of bandits.

True, he stole, cheated and plundered. But he hadn't the heart for murder, only doing so to protect himself. The first time he did kill a person, they were holding a gun against a bystanders head, hand upon the trigger. It was a difficult decision, but knowing that he had saved someone's life made him feel only slightly better. It didn't stop him from throwing up until the early hours of the morning of the day after. He counted himself to only be around eleven at that time. He's never been quite sure of his age.

Life had never been easy for North, he could only hope that it wasn't the same for Katherine.

A cold chill was felt from behind him, and North turned around to find Jack Frost staring at him. North had never spoken to the spirit, and could only feel slightly unnerved by his presence.

Ombric had told North that Jack was more of a fun loving spirit, who was more likely to throw a snowball in your face than threaten you.

When Mother Nature- or Seraphina, Ombric also called her- had entered Big Root, she told them that she would speak later in the afternoon and that she had to 'gather her thoughts'. The only thing North could think was _'Man that woman is scary.'_

Jack had entered a while later. Although his presence before North was undeniable now, when the spirit had first entered the threat tree, North had trouble focusing on him. It was like his presence was clouded and not all there. It became clearer as he came further in, eventually going upstairs without a word.

When North asked about it, Ombric explained that spirits are not usually seen by people. They only can be when a person believes enough or has a strong magical ability. Both are rare, as only children have a strong enough mind for such belief and even the smallest magic is hard to come by. North wasn’t certain which category he fell under, he never had much time to explore his imagination when he was younger and he is fairly certain he has no ability for actual magic whatsoever. But, before he could ask about it, the old wizard had already disappeared.

And now, here he was, hours later, having a staring contest with someone who could freeze him to death at any given moment.

Joy.

Thankfully, Jack seemed to notice the young man’s discomfort, and brought a teasing smile to his face as he sat in the chair opposite North. The winter spirit had a mischievous glint in his eye as he stared at the former Cossack.

“So.” He started.

“So…” North trailed off, unsure of where this was going. The spirit before him did not appear to be any older than him, with snow white hair, blue eyes and pale skin. He had taken off the brown cloak he wore before, now simply dressed in a plain white shirt and deerskin trousers. He didn’t _look_ threatening, but North had learnt that appearances could be deceiving.

The spirit leant forward, and North tensed slightly. 

“Is it true that you actually defeated an entire regiment of cavalry with a bent steak knife while eating?”

There was no disbelief in the words or teasing tone despite the look in his eyes. No Jack seemed to be in wonder, and truly asked the question in honest curiosity. North was so taken aback by this, that he could only gape silently like a fish, as he tried to get a grasp of the situation.

After a few awkward moments, wherein North sat down and drank the rest of his hot chocolate very quickly (and subsequently burning his tongue), he finally was able to string together an actual sentence.

“You want to hear how I did it?” The winter spirit nodded eagerly, leaning even further towards the edge of his seat.

And so, for the next few hours, the two regaled each other with wild stories of their travels, each more absurd than the other. One could never be quite sure if the other was telling the truth, but neither minded, as the beginnings of an everlasting friendship began to form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! See you next chapter!


	9. A Golden Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, I apologise for all OOCness in this chapter and other parts of this story. I always viewed Seraphina as a very emotion driven character that just prefers to hide it best she can. I'm finding it very difficult to write from her point of view. 
> 
> I know that the story is very slow at the moment, but there are just a few things I want to touch upon first and flesh out before we get moving again. Next chapter should begin a few time skips.
> 
> A few OC's will be in this story, but they are not overly important and won't overshadow the main characters and the plot. I simply wanted to add in a few more spirits and characters to make things interesting. If anyone has anything like that that they would like to see, please message me and I will see what I can do.
> 
> Another thing, this story is AU and will not be touching upon most things in book 5. Some elements will be put in here, but for the most part, this story is a rewrite of a story that I had written and abandoned before book 5 came out. I am able to write this due to renewed inspiration and with the help of my wonderful friend, Axta-8. This also means that some things will be added in, like the explanation of the Golden Age in this and the fearlings. I was always a little disappointed that the people from the Golden Age never had many interactions, so this is how I'm going to be doing it. I much prefer the idea of most of them knowing each other in some way. If you have any questions about that, please ask! 
> 
> I would like to thank everyone who has been giving their comments and reviews for this story. It really helps and means a lot to me.
> 
> Updates may be very slow from this point on as school is starting again tomorrow. It is online, but I am likely to be getting a lot of work, so I apologise if it takes more than a week to get only 1,000 chapter out.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you again, and please enjoy!

Chapter 9- A Golden past

Seraphina paced from one end of the room to the other.

She had been doing this for hours now, and she knew that it would soon be time to give her story. But she wasn’t ready! Despite her usually cold demeanour, Seraphina was always closely tied with her emotions. Perhaps that is why she kept people at a distance, and why she often spoke so harshly.

All these years on Earth as Mother Nature has allowed her to bury her memories and her past and just move on with her life. True, Manny had brought a few of those up again, but that was years ago and he soon learned to drop it. Now, within the span of a few days, everything had been unraveled and she had now been left reeling from it all. Stupid fearlings, stupid Pitch, stupid father and stupid, stupid Nightlight! Where had he been all that time? Did he look for her? Did he know? Did he care?

Really, she wanted to throttle the glowing boy and then give him a huge hug. Did he not recognise her? But why did he look in pain when he looked at her? She remembered the times when she was just a little girl, when she’d hide from the big crowds of people, or get upset and run away from her parents. Whenever he was nearby, he would always comfort her and make her smile. He spoke little, but that hadn’t mattered to the small girl. She enjoyed the silence, and the two of them would stare at the stars above them as her sobs subsided and her tears began to dry. She always used to think that those nights were just silly dreams she had, because she would never remember leaving and would always wake up in bed.

But the next time Nightlight visited and she got upset, it happened again. And again. And again. Looking back on it, Seraphina was quite embarrassed by how much she cried as a child, thankfully the Lunanoff guardian never seemed to show much sign of being bothered by it.

She sighed deeply. She missed those times and those starry skies. Everything was so much more simple back then, no one realising the threat that would soon destroy them in a few years time. She remembered how her mother and father would dance together in the secluded gardens, eyes so full of love and happiness as they looked at each other-

No. No, she should not be thinking about this right now. She had enough problems as it is, no need to go diving into that area of the pool so soon.

There was a small knock at the door. “Come in.”

“Miss Seraphina?” It was Katherine, the child that Ombric had raised. “Everyone is in the other room. We were wondering if you were ready.”

Seraphina inwardly smiled at how polite the girl was. Oh, she had no doubt that this girl could be rude and put someone in their place with words alone, but she also was very good at making people feel comfortable around her. Not to mention the great amounts of magic that the immortal felt from the girl, and she thought _Ombric_ was a prodigy. Honestly, where did he get this child?

Seraphina nodded slightly. “Thank you, I shall be just a moment.”

After the girl had shut the door behind her, Seraphina took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She could do this!

Opening the door before her, the Mother of Nature glided softly over the wooden floor as she made her way to stand before the four other occupants of the room. She did not understand why she felt so nervous. It was _four_ people, two of which she already knew!

To her left sat Ombric, an all powerful wizard who had lived for centuries by this point. Next to him, sat Nicholas St. North, a former Cossack and now the most famous bandit in all of Russia. In the chair on the right, closest to her, sat Jack Frost, the spirit of winter who has a serious case amnesia (She needed to talk to him about that later. And maybe Manny too.). And on the very end sat Katherine, an adorable child who could most likely kick serious ass.

All in all, a group of very powerful individuals all sat in a room together discussing world history and how to take down an immortal being with a near endless supply of fearlings.

Maybe their chances might not be so bad.

{~}

Seraphina did not look happy to be there, and Jack honestly couldn’t blame her. From what she had told him earlier, Jack had gathered that she did not seem to like talking about her past at all. But they all knew that there were things that they _needed_ to know. That didn’t mean they had to enjoy it.

The Mother of Nature, after a few moments of silence, had decided to sit down as she told the story. They were likely to be here for a _long_ time.

She took in a deep breath and exhaled. Everyone was silent around her.

“The golden age was seen as a time of peace, where dreamers and wishers thrived in all ways. People were always inventing something new, as they travelled from planet to planet, discovering new things all the time. It was ruled by the constellation families, or nobles as you would call them today. They governed each section and made sure all was in order. Ruling over them was the Tsar and Tsarina Lunanoff, the two most important people in the cosmos. They presided over everything, and were the ones who led the charge against the fearlings and all that threatened the peace of the Golden Age. For, although it was a time of peace, there would always be those that tried to rule and interfere with chaos.

“The fearlings, no one knew exactly where they came from, only that they had always been there. Humans and all the folk of the cosmos did all they could through the ages to purge the universe from the fearlings, finally pushing them back far enough and allowing the Golden Age to begin and thrive. Some argue that the Golden Age came to be during the reign of Tsar Lunanoff VIII, but I believe that it rose and fell with the Man in the Moon’s father, Tsar Lunanoff IX. The man had rallied all of his allies together, and in a long and gruelling war, finally imprisoned the fearlings away. Although I did not see it, I believe that the Golden Age prospered for a few years before… _he_ came. Again, I cannot tell you exactly how it happened, but I believe that something, the leader of the fearlings perhaps, had possessed the gatekeeper of their prison and began to wipe out all the planets in the Golden Age.”

“Did you say ‘leader’?” It was Ombric who interrupted.

“Yes,” Seraphina frowned, “they may not seem like it, but fearlings have some kind of hierarchy. Most of them are the simple ones, born from fear alone and able to create more from such a thing. The more powerful ones are children who have been turned into fearlings. They are not common though, as usually the child simply dies from such an experience. Fearlings of a similar power to that are also those of sentient thought, they have only the same powers as a normal fearling, but are incredibly smart and cunning. The most powerful are those that have properly possessed a person, usually an adult. This procedure is rare though, and only six were ever recorded in the archives, from what I remember. That, I believe, is what Pitch Black has done. A sentient fearling of abnormal power, possessing a human with immense power himself.”

It was Katherine this time that interrupted. “Did you know them? The person that was possessed by Pitch Black, I mean.”

Seraphina turned silent for a long time, obviously deliberating over what she should say. Eventually, she spoke again.

“Yes, I knew him.” She said quietly. “He was also a general of the Golden Armies. The ‘Golden General’ they called him. A man of great honour and kindness. He held no fear when facing the masses of fearlings, and he brought victory to us all. But, it seems even the strongest of minds can fall eventually.”

She slowly shook her head, her long hair hiding her face from view.

“He was your father, wasn’t he?” 

She looked up again to see Ombric staring at her solemnly. She nodded slightly in confirmation.

“Yes,” She whispered, “His name is Kosmotis Pitchiner, and… he is where my favour comes in.” She straightened up and a resolute look appeared in her emerald eyes. “I need you to help me save him, and prevent that thing from possessing him any longer. I cannot bear the thought of my father being used like that any more. So please! Promise you will do this for me.”

Ever so slowly, a small smile appeared on Ombric’s face. “That, my dear, I believe we may be able to help you with. It will be difficult, and it will take time, but I will do everything in my power to make it possible.”

“Let me help too!” Katherine piped up. “You helped Ombric and Mr. North, so I will help in any way I can as well.”

Jack noticed the resigned slump in North’s shoulders when she mentioned him. He had been told that the bandit had attempted to get the girl to drop the politeness, but apparently, the man had yet to achieve such a feat.

“I still have no idea what is going on,” North admitted, “But it sounds fun. I’m in.”

The former Cossack crossed his arms and lent back in his chair. All eyes fell on Jack, but he simply nodded at Seraphina with a smile on his face. She already knew his answer.

Silence befell the room again as everyone looked around at one another. Despite the great things that had been said recently, none of them could deny their exhaustion, physical, mental or both. It took about two minutes of awkward glances for Katherine to finally crack.

“So! Who wants a cookie?”

{~}

Katherine heaved a sigh as she stood on the balcony. Down below, she could see all the residents of Santoff Claussen starting to go about their days again. Despite still feeling completely exhausted, she also felt restless at the same time. Seraphina’s story and plea were saddening to hear, and so she volunteered to help out. Of course, she did not regret her decision, but she keeps thinking she might have suddenly dragged herself into something much bigger than she could imagine.

“That was quite the heavy sigh for someone so small.”

Katherine whipped her head around to see Seraphina walking towards her. The older woman looked like she wanted to simply bury herself in the ground and never deal with a single problem ever again. The young girl could only imagine what she was going through.

“Are you… feeling alright?”

“Truthfully? Not at all.” Seraphina sighed, before smiling down at Katherine. “But I will be.”

The two fell into content silence, watching as the world moved down below. But, as always, Katherine could never stay completely silent for long.

“Who is Nightlight?” She blurted out before properly thinking.

Instead of being offended at the blunt question, Seraphina instead looked amused. “I was wondering if someone may ask me that. Pray tell why you wish to know?”

“He saved my life from a fearling in the forest a few nights ago. I never got to properly thank him.”

“What on earth were you doing in a dark forest at night?”

“... something stupid.”

Seraphina snorted. “It sounds like it.” She leaned her head to the side. “Truth be told, I actually knew very little about Nightlight. I never heard him speak, and he was one of the few people besides my parents to actually get me to stop crying when I was upset. I knew that he fought alongside my father quite a few times, and the two had actually become friends, sort of, during those times. He was known to most as just the Lunanoff’s guardian, silently watching over and protecting them. I never knew what happened to him, but I think he had something to do with Pitch Black being trapped after the death of MiM’s parents. MiM never told me _how_ the Nightmare King was defeated, only that he _was_. If you wish to thank him, then you will have to wait. No matter how hard I tried as a child, I could never find him. Even now, I doubt I could without him flying off before I reached him. And yet, he was always a master at finding me, even when no one else could.”

Katherine frowned. “He seemed almost afraid of Ombric. Is there a reason for why he might be?”

“That’s just typical Nightlight. There was a reason he was always staying out of the way and hiding in corners, and it was adults. They do not _scare_ him, but he is certainly wary of them, and prefers to keep at a distance to them. He only went near the ones he absolutely trusted. He was always an enigma, that little shit.”

She murmured that last part to herself, seeming to forget about the innocent little girl standing next to her.

“Pardon?” Katherine prompted. Seraphina’s eyes widened as she realised what she had just said.

“I- uh said that he was um…”

“Old William says that girls aren’t supposed to swear.”

“Huh?”

“He says that it is unladylike that it was inappropriate behaviour.” The girl stated, as if reciting from memory.

Seraphina huffed. “Well this ‘Old William’ can take his opinions and shove them up his… ah…”

“Ass?”

“Yeah- No! No, absolutely not. Nope. definitely not.”

Katherine giggled. “It’s alright. You should have heard North when I was cleaning his wounds. That man has enlightened me to a whole new vocabulary.”

She cleared her throat. “Right, well, just don’t go repeating them to anyone else. And if you do… I had nothing to do with it.”

Katherine hummed. “Alright. You know, you’re actually really nice. You should smile more.”

With that, the little girl bounced off back inside.

Seraphina shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips. “Perhaps I should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	10. Something to believe in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to get out. I did say that this was going to slow down because of school, but I was hoping maybe not by so much. Be prepared for just one chapter a week I'm afraid...
> 
> That aside, I had loads of fun writing this chapter. The beginning was a bit meh, but I really enjoyed the ending, and I hope you do too.
> 
> Things should really get moving next chapter, I hope. (I'm making no promises!)
> 
> But anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter 10- Something to believe in

Ombric hummed a small tune to himself as he left his small study. Seraphina was leaving for her seasonal palace today, and he wanted to give her something before she left.

After everything that had happened, the old wizard had not slept a wink in two days, and he was beginning to feel tiredness weigh him down. As he made his way through the oak halls to the outside, he saw through the windows that everyone had gathered outside.

The wind was blowing ever so slightly, not enough to properly pick up the snow. North was wearing his usual red clothing, which still had few tears and holes in it from the battle with the bear. Katherine was also in her usual yellow winter dress, but the hood was up this time, obviously feeling more of the cold. Jack had taken off his brown cloak, which the winter spirit lamented had gotten a huge hole ripped through on his way back to Santoff Claussen the day before. He looked the least affected by the weather, even rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows. Seraphina stood before them, wearing the same dress as yesterday and her cloak.

As Ombric stepped outside himself, muttering apologies for his tardiness, he caught on the last bits of their conversation.

“The seasonal spirits will all be there on the Summer Solstice.” Seraphina was saying. “I hope to see you there as well, I believe that they would also like to meet you.”

Jack nodded. “How will I know where it is?”

“I will send you a message, don’t worry.” As she said that, she turned to face Ombric. “I do not know when we will meet again, so I can only ask you to stay on guard for the mean time and remember the promise you made.”

The old man inclined his head. “Of course. For now, I would like to give you this.” He held out an amulet similar to the ones he gave Jack and Katherine, only this one had an emerald for the stone. “Though not great for communication, if you put a bit of magic in it, it will give us a signal to where you are. In case trouble happens.”

The tall woman took the amulet and tied it around her neck. “Thank you. I will be on the watch for you as well.”

Despite the well meaning words, Ombric still disliked the mention of Seraphina’s ability to spy on people. Perhaps he was just paranoid.

After a few farewells were said, Seraphina took a step back, and, in a flurry of wind, leaves and snow, disappeared from Santoff Claussen. Soon, Katherine excused herself to the library and Jack left to go throw snowballs into unsuspecting people’s faces, leaving just North and Ombric to stand out in the cold.

Ombric’s eyes glanced to the side where North was standing. The young man’s brows were furrowed and looked to be deep in thought. The wizard thought back to everything he had seen of the young man recently, and finally came to a conclusion. Apparently, the man saw this place in a dream and was led here by moonbeams. He and his company had raced for hours, across rivers and lakes, mountains and clouds, before reaching the wards in the woods. His men had been too tempted by the guardian in the forest, and had been turned to stone. But North, despite being tempted at first, cast aside his desires and fought the bear instead. Very few had been able to escape the allure of the jewels and riches before them, so that made North quite a special person already. The bear was also not an ordinary bear, as it was the largest and strongest of all bears in the world. Then, there was the idea of him not only clearly seeing magic being used, but spirits and immortals as well. North is no child, and Ombric had felt a magical presence from him.

Yes, Ombric knew exactly what to do.

{~}

North would never say out loud that he felt nervous when Ombric had asked him to follow him into his study, but saying it in his mind was fine.

North was very nervous when Ombric asked him to follow him into his study.

The wizard was hundreds of years old, and, despite being a friendly person, was not someone you wanted to anger. Now, North was uncertain as to whether or not he _had_ angered the man, but he didn’t want to assume otherwise. Perhaps he had heard the bandit swearing in front of Katherine.

That would _not_ be good…

So, when the young man heard what the elder had said upon reaching the study, he was certainly surprised. So surprised, if fact, that he asked Ombric to repeat it.

“I asked,” Ombric said with the slightest hint of exasperation in his voice, “If you would become my apprentice?”

North blinked. Twice. Three times. “What?”

Ombric slumped against the wooden desk, his eyes rolling so hard, North thought they might fall out.

The old wizard muttered something to himself under his breath before speaking aloud. “Never in all my long years of life have I _ever_ taken on an apprentice, and the first one I ask suddenly turns deaf when I do!”

That didn’t sound right. “I thought Katherine was your apprentice.”

Ombric shook his head. “No, not quite. I am hoping to take her as an apprentice when she is older, but for now she is just a student of ordinary magic.”

North raised an eyebrow. Now that sounded interesting. “There are different kinds of magic?”

Ombric gestured for North to sit in a nearby chair as he explained.“Of course. There is ‘elemental magic’, which is used by spirits of the seasons and elementals. There is ‘spirit magic’, which is spells and tricks that are unique to a certain spirit. There is ‘conduit magic’, where a spell caster can channel extremely powerful magic and create charms. It can also be called ‘book magic’ for that is what most people use as their conduit. But a conduit for channelling power can be almost anything, as long as it is tied to the wielder. And then there is ‘belief magic’, or just commonly known as ordinary magic. It is called as such, because it can do almost anything, and is limited by only one's will and imagination.”

North sat in silence for the entire explanation. To think there were so many things he did not know about the world! Everything he was hearing was sure to make his head explode…

Unaware of North's oncoming migraine, Ombric continued. “I teach the children of this village only ‘belief magic’ because it is the least dangerous, and allows them to experiment without going too far. There are, of course, many other kinds of magic, but they are not as important as the ones I mentioned, and will get onto them at a later time. As it is, if you became my apprentice, I will be teaching not just how to advance in ‘belief magic’, but also in ‘conduit magic’. But only if you wish to.”

As he said the last part, Ombric went over to behind his desk and brought out a candle, placing it in front of North.

Although confused by this, North had more important questions on his mind. “What makes you think I can do such magic. And why ask me? Surely there are better candidates out in the world for such a thing.”  


Ombric hummed. To answer the first, despite being a young adult, you have the ability to see both magic and spirits. Such a thing can oftentimes be difficult for many of the older people in Santoff Claussen, who have lived here their entire lives. That is not something a person without strong ability for magic can do. As for the second, well, I believe that, in time, you will find the answer to that question on your own.”

His thoughts lightened when given the answer to his first question, but they soon fell again with the second. _Cryptic old bastard…_

“As for the candle,” Ombric said, bringing North back from his thoughts, “Why don’t you try lighting it.” _Oh, well, that should be easy._ “Without your hands.”

What.

Ombric smiled. “Try seeing if you can light it with magic. How about we use this as a… trial lesson of sorts, hm?”

And with that, the old man patted North on the shoulder, and left the room.

A few silent minutes passed, until…

“How the fu-”

{~}

A week passed, and North had yet to light the candle.

Endless hours of just staring and staring brought him nothing. Zilch. Nada. not even a puff of smoke. The young man was beginning to lose heart, and was starting to think that the old man had just been lying about the whole ‘strong magical thingy’ from before.

He huffed and puffed, and surprisingly did not bring Big Root tumbling down. Although it was a close thing. When on a mission, North was always quiet, keeping to himself as he thought and pondered. His endless brooding caused not just Jack to notice soon enough, but Katherine too. While Jack just laughed at the man silently from a corner or a window, the poor girl was trying her very hardest to give him encouragement and as much help as she could.

She would tell him stories of her own failings in magic and how she overcame them, she would tell him when to take a break, and would bring him freshly baked cookies on regular intervals.

But, soon enough, even little Katherine had no idea of what to do, and began to start brooding herself. And that was something that they could _not_ have.

Jack had to actually throw one of his special snowballs in her face to lighten up. She, in turn, threw one back at him. This eventually caused a massive snowball fight, tying all the villagers into it. Even Ombric threw some at a few points, however he would vehemently deny the accusation of pouring ice cold water down Old William’s back. 

But amidst all the fun, there was one person who did not join in. North had simply sat solemnly at the window, the unlit candle sat in front of him.

It frustrated him to no end! Never in his life had there been anything that he could not achieve. He was the great Bandit Prince for bloody’s sake, and nothing was ever going to stand in his way!

Except a candle, it would seem.

He let out a great sigh and banged his head against the window, closing his eyes in frustration. He was glad he did, for had he been distracted by anything else, he would not have felt the faint chill before it was too late.

“Don’t. Even. think. About. It.” He growled out. Jack frost just laughed in retaliation, and flew down from his perch up high to sit opposite the bandit. The blue tinted snowball in his hand vanished as he did so.

“No need to get so snappy. I’m only trying to help.” The spirit cocked his head to the side. “Surely you are tired of just sitting here in a dark room by yourself all day long?”

North did not want to admit it, but yes, he was very tired of sitting in a dark room all by himself. But he didn’t know what to do!

When he expressed as much out loud, Jack took on a contemplative face. “Have you asked Ombric?” A nod. “Have you asked Katherine?” Another nod. “So, a week has passed, and you have asked everyone in this giant tree _except_ me?”

Wait, what. “No, Jack, that isn’t-”

“No! I don’t want to hear it. All this time that I thought we were friends, and you couldn’t even deign to ask me for help? What kind of friend are you?” The white haired teen crossed his arms and turned his back on the young man.

Said young man was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to do, he had never been in such a situation before!  
Unbeknownst to him, Jack was trying his hardest not to start laughing out loud. This was too easy.

Eventually, after a few moments of North bumbling over his words, Jack relented, turning back and laughing in his face. He laughed so hard, in fact, that tears began to spring in his eyes.

Poor North flushed with embarrassment for being caught in such a joke, and a murderous look overtook his face.

Upon seeing that look, Jack slid back a bit. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was just too easy, calm down!”

North did eventually calm down, but not before giving the spirit one last glare. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Have you ever used ‘belief magic’?”

Jack pondered this for a moment, before shaking his head. “No, I have not. Mostly because I have my winter powers, and also because I have never really had much to believe in.”

Of course, being alone for three years would give someone very few things to have actual attachment to, so it would be unlikely that Jack would have ever used such a thing before, purposefully or accidental. ‘Belief magic’ was limited by one's will and imagination, that is what Ombric said. But North just could not figure out how to actually use that.

“What do you believe in?”

Jack’s sudden question brought North’s mind to a stop.

The spirit carried on. “Surely, after all these years you have lived, all the people you have met, you have found a purpose or something worth more than anything else. Something special to _you_ that no one else can have. It can be an object, a person, or an idea. It doesn’t have to exist, because if you believe enough in it, it can become real. So, I ask you, what do you believe in, North?”

What _did_ he believe in? 

Fame? No, he already had that, and it felt empty enough as it was. Family? Never had one. A person? He had never been that close with someone.

The question cut to his core, for North came to the realisation that he did not believe in anything at all. He was a bandit, yes, but what for? Had he ever truly achieved anything except empty praises and promises of comradeship from people who would only later want to stab him in the back?

Who is Nicholas St. North, and what is his purpose?

Jack seemed to notice the young man’s inner turmoil, as he continued to speak. “Why not start with yourself?”

“What?”

“Do you not believe you can do it? Do you not believe that you have the ability to achieve whatever you want? Ombric believes in you, Katherine as well, and so do I. so why not start with believing in yourself. You can then find your way from there.”

North frowned, not understanding. He had not known these people long, yet they had such faith in him. No one had ever said they once believed in him. All his life he had been pushed around and beaten to a pulp, before he finally learned to do the same back. Never once, had someone held out there hand offered their help, or truly stood by his side in battle.

He had given up on such a wish, thinking it to only be a mere pipe dream that anyone could be so loyal or kind.

But could that dream become a reality? Could such a thing be possible if only he… believed in himself enough to pave the way for such a thing. Perhaps it could. But only if he tried.

_What the hell. Might as well see if I can actually do this._

Closing his eyes, and tuning out his surroundings, North concentrated on only his belief in that dream and what he wanted to do with it.

_I believe…_

The words echoed in his mind, and for a while, nothing happened. But then, a warmth lit up in front of him, the warmth of… a fire.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and beheld a… well, it was certainly a sight. He had lit the candle alright, but not just the tip of it. No, somehow, the whole thing had suddenly combusted into flames!

He noticed Jack suddenly moving back, his blue eyes were wide and frantic. “Holy shit!”

Holy shit, indeed.

Unsure of what to do, North just began to flail his arms all over the place. “Did you do this?”

“Me?” Jack practically screeched. “Do I look like the kind of person who could do this? I’m a winter spirit, I don’t _do_ fire.”

Then that means… he had done it! He had actually achieved it!

His moment of revelry was soon interrupted though, as he once again noticed the large fire in front of him.

“Quick!” He cried. “Put it out!”

“Wha- Do it yourself! You started it!”

“Yes, and you remember how long it took me to achieve that?”

As the pair argued, the fire started to grow, and soon started spouting out sparks as if it had a mind of its own. Panicked, Jack threw out his hands, and a cold air once again enveloped the room.

Where there was once a raging inferno, there was now a block of ice, which increased what might have once been a perfectly good candle, but was now just a clump of frozen wax.

“Ombric’s going to kill me for that, I know it.” North said mournfully.

Jack was looking down at his hands in awe, as if the spirit had never noticed they were there before. “That’s never happened before.” He muttered to himself. “I wonder what else I can do…”

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing. But, uh, hey! You lit the candle, sort of…”

North snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

The two stared at the ice block for a long time, before eventually bursting out laughing. To someone looking in from outside, they might have looked like they had gone insane, with the amount they were laughing and the intensity of it.

And it was exactly the scene that Katherine and Ombric found themselves watching as they came in from outside, the pair of them completely covered in snow. Katherine, although not understanding what happened, began to smile at the two. Meanwhile, Ombric raised his eyebrow at the strange ice sculpture sat between the two laughing idiots.

Sighing and shaking his head as he walked off, he decided to just ask about it later.

He was too old for all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.


	11. Cloud Jumping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took a while, I had two essays to write this weekend.
> 
> I will probably go back and re-write this chapter at some point, It's really rushed. But I wanted to get something out soon, and I did quite enjoy writing this.
> 
> Anyway, I am extremely tired, so I shall stop waffling now.
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 11- Cloud Jumping

Surprisingly, Ombric did _not_ kill North for destroying his candle.

Instead, the old man had simply shook his head at the frozen mess and brought North to the library. That was where the young man could be found over the course of the next month. His time was divided between studying, avoiding getting hit by snowballs, and inventing.

The last one had become a big favourite of North’s. Ombric was correct in saying that the man had an aptitude for magic, but the pair soon found out that his real talent lay in creating things from almost nothing. At first, he simply found joy in creating inanimate objects, trinkets and toys that the children of the village adored to look at. But, he soon found out that if he applied a bit of magic, he could make those objects come to life!

Ombric was… mildly concerned at the discovery, fearing that something would explode sooner or later. Katherine _loved_ the inventions, she would giggle and smile as little mechanical butterflies would fly around her head, and little insects would crawl across the floor. Jack, though in awe, had learned not to touch the little objects. It seemed that, after the candle fiasco, things would suddenly freeze at his touch where, previously, he could only do so with his staff.

The poor winter spirit was becoming quite put out over it, and had turned him to brooding in the trees. It was only when North had made a bunch of mechanical birds fly over his head, that the spirit started smiling again. He was still put out, however, and it was not uncommon to see him sitting alone, deep in thought.

Everyone knew that it was something that Jack had to figure out himself, and usually left him as he was. But Ombric would still try to engage him in conversation, trying to figure out how to help. North would regale him with more absurd stories of his adventures across the land. And Katherine would bake cookies and simply sit by him as she read. Eventually, he did begin to bounce back, but he would still be careful about what he touched and fly off to be on his own sometimes. They knew he would be alright, and he was thankful for their support.

It was halfway through the month that North got a brilliant idea. Well, he _called_ it a brilliant idea, but no one knew exactly what it was. The young man had been given his own private space as his workshop, and soon began to spend more and more time down there. People would hear loud bangs as they passed, as well as a few vulgar words. Smoke also became a common smell down there as well.

Eventually, at the end of the month, North proudly stated that he had finished his great project. The residents of Big Root had gathered outside as the excited young mad stood behind something very large covered in a white cloth.

“Now,” he started, “As you know, I have been working on a _little_ project as of late, and am now hereby proud to present you my greatest invention yet!”

With great flourish, he pulled off the large white cloth to reveal… a giant metal… man?

“Behold!” North cried. “The Djini!”

Katherine clapped enthusiastically, as Ombric and Jack looked on in apprehension.

Jack snorted. “You call _that_ little?”

North pouted at the winter spirit, as Ombric stepped up to get a closer look. “What is it supposed to do?”

North turned to the elder man. “Well, I thought that perhaps we could use with something else to help further protect the village. The idea is that we all put a personal belonging inside the Djini so that it recognises us. If someone it doesn’t recognise shows up, it will not let them through. If that stranger attacks, then the Djini will respond in kind.”

Ombric hummed in appreciation. After the little… fiasco they had last month, Ombric had been reinforcing the wards around Santoff Claussen. The spirit of the forest had also been warned to stay on further guard for anything suspicious. The bear had, thankfully, recovered from its little ordeal and had begun to start snarling at anything that seemed remotely dangerous. The poor rabbits that lived in the forest were more than terrified.

After a while, the wizard spoke up. “But does it work?”

Now, that was the question, wasn’t it? “Well, I haven’t exactly tested it out yet so…”

They fell into silence for a small while, before Katherine gave a suggestion. “Why don’t we see if we can get it to recognise everyone first? That way, we can at least see if it wont start randomly attacking everyone in sight.”

Deciding that that was the best plan, the four decided to tell everyone in the village. The Djini was not currently awake, and simply sat in silence as everyone gave a small item that they owned.

North nearly cried when Katherine showed him the picture of the two of them, so that it would recognise them both. He also suggested that she add in both Jack and Ombric, so that all four of them would be in it. Chipper as ever, she heartily agreed.

Though he had not known them long, he had become very close to the residents of Big Root. Ombric was his mentor, but also looked out for them in a parental way. Katherine was the little sister that everyone doted on and looked after. Jack was like a brother to North, teasing, but not mean and always playing a prank or two on anyone in the house. North was the elder brother to the younger two, joining in on the pranks with them sometimes and often playing one on them himself. Yes, they were like one very strange family. But it worked for them, and that was all that mattered.

Everyone cheered in delight when the Djini came to life at North’s order. He explained that as long as it was actually possible, the Djini would do anything they asked. So no, Fog, that did not mean it could turn your sister into a frog whenever she became annoying.

Soon, the Djini became a part of everyday life, helping people in any way it could. Anything anyone asked of it, it would do diligently and without fail.

The children adored it, usually asking for absurd things that usually were not possible for it to do. North had to intervene when Sascha had asked the Djinni to carry her all the way to Africa.

Yes, they would have to be careful about things like that.

Unfortunately, he was not able to intervene during the next incident. A week had passed since the Djini had joined them, and Katherine had finally plucked up the courage to give a request.

She knew that North would be very against this, and thus decided to do it when he was looking after Petrov, who had been given his very own stable. 

“Djini.” She looked up at it with big eyes. “I want you to throw me as high as you can into the air, and then catch me safely.”

The metal man inclined its head. **“As you command.”**

It just so happened that North was coming around the bend as soon as the little girl had jumped into the Djini’s arms. Realising only too late what was about to happen, North could only watch in despair as the girl soon went flying up beyond the clouds, soon becoming an invisible little speck in the sky.

He was so, so dead.

{~}

Of all things to happen, Nightlight did not expect to be joined by a young girl in the clouds that day. Or any day, for that matter.

However, the spectral boy had soon come to learn that his expectations were going to be constantly challenged, especially by the residents of Santoff Claussen. If you asked him, he would swear whole heartedly that it was a village filled with madmen. 

Ever since he had remembered his name, Nightlight had divided his time between hunting down fearlings and watching over the strange village. During the former, he came across many people. The Small Ones would hit each other with sticks and play with dolls. The Tall Ones would work and watch over the Small Ones, making sure they didn’t get into trouble. Wherever he went, they all acted the same, whether they were in big fancy houses with nice clothes, or small wooden huts wearing rags. The behaviour was all the same.

Santoff Claussen, however, was not an ordinary village.

The Tall Ones did work and watch over the Small Ones, but there was just something so _off_. Usually, whenever he was near the Tall Ones, he felt the sudden urge to disappear, to hide and make sure they didn't see him. But these Tall Ones? He felt none of that. There was something kind and bright about them, almost as if they were still children in a way.

He didn't like it when things felt _off._

The Small Ones were different in a good way. They still smiled and played like normal, but Nightlight had soon noticed something else. Whilst other Small Ones played with sticks and dolls, _these_ Small Ones played with _magic._

He had seen traces of magic and spirits all over this strange world, but Santoff Claussen was the only place he had seen mortals using it.

And it wasn't used lightly either. It was being constantly wielded by anyone and everyone, like it was something that was completely ingrained into their lifestyle. He believed it might be, in fact.

He had also come to realise that some of the residents were particularly strong in their magic. Specifically those that lived in the giant tree.

The one in red, named North, he had learned, was the least experienced in using it. The young man had only seemed to have recently arrived at the village, and was thus learning the basics of magic. However, he seemed to be in the business of inventing. More often than not, Nightlight found himself covering his ears from the loud _booms_ that could be heard from his direction. The young man was usually covered in burn marks and smelt of smoke.

The wizard, Ombric, seemed to be the most powerful. He would have an answer for almost anything, giving advice and scolding the Small Ones for their pranks. He seemed older than all the others, and he certainly looked it. But to Nightlight, he felt very young.

The spirit, Jack Frost, was even more unusual. His magic was different from the others, entirely elemental, but that was to be expected. When Nightlight first encountered the spirit, he seemed to have quite good control over his powers. Now, however, not only had he lost control, but he had also grown stronger. It was such a sudden change that Nightlight was not certain if it was the same spirit or not. Two minutes later (that may have involved a snowball fight), he decided that no, this was certainly the same spirit.

Katherine, the little girl, was the most interesting. Though not as powerful as Ombric and Jack, the yellow clad girl had lots of control. She had been practicing often, and only took her a few tries before mastering a spell. Thus far, her only limit seemed to be her strength. Nightlight had no doubt that she would become very powerful very quickly.

Putting all four of them together, Nightlight was surprised that that giant tree had not burned to the ground just yet.

The past month, Nightlight had been watching all of them moving around their days, invisible to everyone. Truly, he was shocked that not even the wizard had noticed his presence yet.

When the Djini had arrived, he watched as all sorts of things happened. He found it rather amusing about how flustered all the adults had become when one of the Small Ones nearly got carried all the way to another country.

It had just so happened that on one particular day, he found himself lounging on a cloud. There were no fearlings around for the moment, and was feeling a bit bored.

He had been considering flying off to go play with a few moonbeams when a yellow blur flew past him with a great _whoosh_. When the blur slowed, he was soon able to make out the shape of a Small One.

A yellow Small One who was specifically named Katherine.

Had he been paying attention, Nightlight might have noticed the Djini standing below, ready to catch the girl as she fell. Except he didn't, and, without much thought, the spectral boy held out his hands to catch the dark haired girl.

She fell into his waiting arms easily, a shocked expression on her face. She was a lot heavier than she looked, but Nightlight held her steady. When she recovered from her initial shock of being caught, Katherine looked up at him.

Grey eyes met luminescent green, as the two stood alone up in the clouds.

{~}

Katherine had believed it was a smart idea. She was wrong.

Perhaps she should have thought that asking the Djini to throw her up into the air would not be safe, but she never believed she would go beyond the clouds!

It was exhilarating at first, the feeling of flying. She loved it!... until she started to go down. 

She knew she had asked the Djini to catch her, but that didn't stop the panic settling in as soon as gravity took hold.

Yet, she wasn't falling long before she felt a pair of arms catch her. The first thing she noticed was the white hair, making her immediately think of Jack. But it was only when her eyes met the piercing green of the one holding her, did she recognise him.

Nightlight looked as shocked as she felt, and for a few long moments, the two were silent. Then, ever so slowly, the spectral boy lowered her down. She feared that she was about to fall for a second time, before her feet landed on something very soft and bouncy.

Looking down, she noticed that she was standing on a cloud!

She jumped up and down on it for a bit, enjoying how springy it was. When she looked back up, she realised that Nightlight was smiling at her. Looking at him, she recalled the night when they first met.

“Nightlight,” She began. The boy looked slightly startled at the use of his name, and she wondered how long it had been since anyone had properly used it apart from Seraphina. “I wanted to thank you, for saving me when we first met. And for when you showed up the last time as well.” She added the last part, remembering the day when Pitch had shown up.

The boy raised an eyebrow, and then waved his free hand as if to say ‘don’t worry about it.’ Katherine then also realised that he was still holding her hand. _Perhaps that is what’s keeping me afloat on this cloud,_ she thought.

What was truly shocking, was when Nightlight shook his head as if to disagree with her thoughts. She quickly banished the idea though, as that couldn’t be right.

She cleared her throat. “What… uh, have you been up to?” Wow. Good job Katherine, you aren’t making this awkward at all.

_Why did you ask that?_ She mentally questioned herself. _Seraphina told you that he doesn’t talk much, if at all._

Now Nightlight was giving her a really weird look. _Is he actually reading my mind?_

The spectral boy gave her another weird look, and then nodded. He looked as if he hadn’t known this himself.

Katherine began screaming in her mind. _Now what do I do? Every embarrassing thing I think will just be up for him to know no matter how I try to hide it. Ahhhhh this is weird!_

Meanwhile, unwillingly listening in on Katherine’s internal rant, Nightlight was waving his hands for her to calm down. It wasn’t like he meant to do it! As soon as he touched her, he just suddenly started hearing her thoughts. 

Katherine was too far into her mind to realise that Nightlight had let go of her hand, or that she had stumbled back so far that she began to slip off of the cloud.

Before she could fall completely back, however, Nightlight quickly zoomed forward, grabbing one of her hands, with the other supporting her back. The two were even closer together than before, making Katherine turn bright red. She tried to keep her mind quiet as he lifted her back up.

“Sorry.” She apologised. “I freaked out a bit there.”

The look on his face said _‘really? I hadn’t noticed.’_ He let go of her hand again, as he gave her an apologetic smile. She felt as if she could almost feel the guilt coming from him. _Strange…_

Her mind raced up, and she quickly realised that she had been up there for quite a while. _Everyone down on the ground who might have seen me flying up probably thinks I’m still going._

Nightlight, hearing this, got an alarmed expression on his face, before looking like he was trying to stifle his laughter at the thought.

She couldn’t help but giggle herself. “That poor Djini is probably still waiting for me to come back down.”

Nightlight looked thoughtful for a while, before gaining a twinkle in his eyes. He looked to Katherine and held out his hand.

After staring at it for a while, she silently took it, only to be pulled along into a run by the boy. At every gap between the clouds, he would take a great leap, guiding the two across the white sea. Katherine started to laugh, and Nightlight smiled brightly at the sound.

Higher and higher the jumps became, neither letting go of the others hand. Soon, instead of running, the two were just jumping their way across the clouds, laughing and smiling as they went.

Katherine didn’t have time to think or ponder on anything that was happening, having too much fun to either question or object to it.

The two were cloud jumping for hours, neither noticing as the time went by. Further away, and unseen to the pair, a winter spirit watched on with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	12. Ombric, and the insanity which is single parenting three problem children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!
> 
> Oh my goodness, I am so sorry this took so long! When I said I was gonna take a break, I thought I was talking more two weeks, not a whole MONTH!
> 
> But! I am here now, and so very excited to get back into writing again. This still does not mean that I will be giving out regular updates. Sorry! But school does take priority no matter how much I hate it.
> 
> Chapter 13 will hopefully be put up not long after this, so please make sure to read this chapter first. 
> 
> You might also notice that I have put italics in this chapter, and have also edited all previous chapters to have them too. I am crossposting this on FanFiction.Net, and usually proof read it there, so I had not realised that emphasis and stuff did not show up here when I copy and paste it from Google Docs. But, luckily I have noticed that and put everything where it should be.
> 
> If you notice anything wrong with the chapters, please tell me, as I want everyone to be able to read this story without too much trouble.
> 
> ANYWAY! Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me in this, I really am grateful and I hope that you enjoy all future updates too!
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 12- Ombric, and the insanity which is single parenting three problem children

Ombric should have known the Djini would be a bad idea.

When North first presented the large metal being, the wizard couldn’t help being impressed. The craftsmanship and thought that went into it was absolutely splendid, and Ombric was happy to know that it would also serve to help and protect the village.

It was only when Katherine was sent sailing into the air that Ombric realised that maybe a few more precautions should have been taken. When the old man heard of the incident from a very distressed North… Well, anger was most certainly _one_ emotion he was feeling.

For a whole hour, the girl was missing above the clouds, and the only thing that stopped Ombric from exploding from panic was the assurances that the little girl was fine from Jack. the winter spirit had supposedly spied Katherine in the air, but whatever she was doing, he wouldn’t tell. He would simply grin and say ‘she’ll be back soon. Don’t worry too much.’ That, of course, made him worry _more_ , but he could do little more than simply grumble and go back inside.

Ever since Pitch had shown up and Seraphina had given her account of the Golden Age, Ombric had been doing his own research on the subjects. Hours of reading and study later, he came across something rather interesting. Although most stories of the Golden Age are just speculation, there is one thing that continues to pop up:

Relics.

Apparently, there were five relics of the Golden Age that were lost and scattered when the Nightmare King was defeated above the earth. These artifacts were supposed to hold immense power, and were extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Ombric believed that if they were able to harness this power, it may be enough to stop Pitch and his army.

Which would be great… if he knew what or where any of them were. The only clues he found were a few vague mentions of the Himalayas as being one of the first places to look. Not exactly much to go on. So, he sent all manner of messages to the animals of the world, asking about the place and if there was anything unusual around there.

It was early evening by the time he had found a destination and reached a decision, and Katherine had just casually walked through the door as if nothing had happened earlier. She was practically beaming, covered in snow with her long hair tangled and wind blown. When Ombric had asked what happened and where she had been, she gave him an even wider grin.

“Cloud jumping, of course.” She replied, as if _that_ made any sense. He knew better than to try and ask for a proper explanation, as he would probably deem it impossible before remembering where he was and that it was Katherine he was talking to. Really, between her disappearing into the air, North creating giant metal beings that move and talk, and Jack freezing the entire kitchen earlier this morning (he has now been permanently banned from the place), Ombric felt like a tired parent who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

He supposed it was a good thing that he had finally gotten a lead on the relics, as it would give him something to do other than constantly worry about what next might explode.

A few hours after Katherine had skipped up to her room to change into something more comfortable, Ombric gathered the three other residents of Big Root into the main living room. Despite Katherine’s earlier little ‘escapade’, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and all of them sat comfortably in large, plush chairs near the fire (except Jack, for he and heat were never a good combo). Ombric felt bad for having to ruin it.

“North and I shall be leaving the village for a while. Alone.” He stated bluntly after half an hour of silence.

“WHAT!?” Katherine screeched so loud Ombric believed that the entire country may have heard it.

Jack stayed silent, but his furrowed brow expressed similar feelings to Katherine. Ombric sighed, knowing he would get this kind of reaction. Honestly, he had no idea how long they were gone and how dangerous it might be, so he reasoned that leaving the young girl behind would be most safest for her wellbeing and Ombric’s sanity. Jack was also being left behind mostly because of the fact that he keeps freezing things. Yes, he has been getting better at controlling it, but on this kind of mission, there could be no risks like that. Besides, the spirit was the best candidate for keeping Katherine distracted.

North was coming with him because he needed an experienced adventurer who could handle the worst case scenarios. The young man also knew the most about the Djini, which would act as their mode of transport. That, and he was the least likely to drive Ombric mad within the first two hours.

When he explained as such, in a much more polite way, he was met with an acknowledging grunt from North, a resigned sigh from Jack, and a red pouting face from Katherine.

The girl, in such a rage, got up from her chair and stormed up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. Ombric groaned, as he knew that this would incur the famous ‘silent treatment’ that Katherine would give a person when she is angry. It wasn’t often that the girl got truly angry, but when she did, it was certainly not something you wanted aimed at yourself. He did try to explain as such to Jack, but the spirit only seemed to get the idea once several pillows had been pelted in his face.

After laughing at Jack’s disgruntled face for several minutes, North went down to his private workshop, saying that he had something to finish up on. A few hours later, after Jack had gone to sit up in the branches of Big Root and Ombric was making final preparations for the next morning, North emerged from his workshop and made his way up to Katherine’s room, carrying a small package and a note.

When the young man came back down, Ombric made to say good night, but not before North interrupted him.

“So, where are we going tomorrow? You’ve been very tight lipped about the whole affair.”

Indeed, after Katherine’s little outburst, Ombric had waved off any questions from the other two, merely advising North to prepare for a long journey in the cold, and to make sure the Djini was ready. It was most amazing how North had been able to make it so that the large metal man could serve as a mode of transportation along with its other things. It was quite helpful for these kinds of situations, however they would only know if it actually worked when they used it tomorrow.

“I will not tell you here.” He explained. “I fear of any who may be listening in, and can only say that it is imperative Pitch does not figure out where we are going or why.”

Picking up his hat from the table, he left it at that, bidding North good night as he passed.

And it was a good thing indeed that Ombric had not said a word of their destination, as neither wizard nor apprentice noticed the little black spider watching them from the window sill. Nor did they notice as it scuttled away towards the Djini, slipping itself between the gaps in its armour.

{~}

Katherine woke with an ache in her neck.

It was only after throwing all of her pillows at Jack last night in a fit of rage, that she realised that she would have nothing to lay her head on. She had huffed, now even more frustrated, and decided to continue work on her little project. The only joy she got from that evening was actually finishing her project, and even that gave her less satisfaction than it would have.

Still in a bad mood, the young girl decided to read through her spell book. The words seemed to take her mind off of things, if only a little bit. She had not realised how late it became until she began to doze off, drifting into a fitful (and very uncomfortable) sleep.

Which brought her back here.

She stretched her arms above her head and chambered off of her bed, closing her open spellbook. Looking down, she realised that she was also in her clothes from yesterday. She groaned, making her way over to find something new to wear. Her hair looked like… well, perhaps it would be best not to try and deal with that for now.

As she made her way downstairs she thought back on all that had happened recently. From amnesiatic winter spirits to ancient Kings of darkness and evil laughs, the last month had certainly been… interesting.

She yawned as she made her way into the kitchen, suddenly beholding a peculiar sight. Jack had a very confused look on his face as he held up two frying pans of different sizes in front of him. On the side was a carton of eggs and some unopened bacon.

She shook her head, walking further into the room. “I thought you were banned from the kitchen.”

Jack jumped, obviously having been so immersed in what he was doing that he had not noticed Katherine enter from upstairs. “Yes, well, the person who banned me is not here right now, so…”

“They’ve already left, then?”

Jack put down the frying pans. “Yeah, early this morning. I was barely awake myself, as the sun had not even risen.”

Katherine huffed. She was still mad at Ombric, but supposed that her outburst last night was a bit unnecessary. Ombric was an all powerful wizard for goodness sake! And North was a former bandit, an expert on survival. _They will be fine,_ she told herself. But she still could not shake that uneasy feeling in her gut.  
She made her way further into the kitchen. “Are you… trying to cook?”

Jack looked a bit embarrassed. “... maybe?”

“You do know that you can just ask Big Root for what you want and it will appear.”

“I know, but I thought that as it was just us, and you were in a bad mood, so I thought I might try and cheer you up.” He looked extremely uncomfortable at this point.

“While I very much appreciate the thought, I do not think that you destroying the kitchen will cheer up my mood in any way. Besides, I’m feeling a lot better after sleeping.” _Despite it being a very uncomfortable, pillowless sleep…_

“Wha- why do you think I would destroy the kitchen!?”

She gave him an amused look. “Do you remember _why_ you are banned from the kitchen?”

That shut him up. Jack muttered something under his breath, putting everything away from where he found it. Eyeing his pout, Katherine realised that _she_ now had to find a way to cheer up _him._

And she knew exactly what might do the job…

“I’ll be right back!” She called, ignoring Jack’s protests as she rushed back upstairs to her room.

Spying the blue fabric from where she left it, she made her way across the room, but not before spotting something out of the corner of her eye.

It was a small package laid next to her bed, her name scribbled on the top. _I must not have noticed it when I woke up._ A small not had also been placed beside it, and she opened it up to read:

_Katherine,_

_I apologise for leaving without saying goodbye, and hope that you are not too angry with either of us. We promise to stay safe and come back soon, so you had better not get into too much trouble while we are gone._  
_In the meantime, take this small little present I made. It isn’t much, but it will always point to where I am._

_Take care, (and hit Jack over the head if he tries to enter the kitchen- Ombric)_

_~North._

She smiled at the message, and put it down to open the package. Inside was a beautiful compass, covered in intricate little swirls and patterns. Though a rather simple idea, she could feel the magic coming off of it. _Of course, only North would make a compass that pointed to himself._

Mood much improved, she put the compass into her pocket, grabbed the blue fabric and rushed downstairs. She found Jack sitting rather glumly in front of a pile of muffins. A rather unusual choice for breakfast, but it was a collective agreement between the residents of Big Root that muffins and cookies were ideal for making anyone feel happy. When Ombric had first stated as so, North said that they should just invite Pitch Black over for afternoon tea then, as it would make him less likely to want to kill them all.

Holding her little package close to her, she made her way over to the table and took a seat. Silently, she slid the blue fabric over to Jack, who eyed it with a peculiar expression.

She gestured for him to unravel it, and he did so, to reveal…

“Katherine! You- where did you get this?”

“I made it.”

She smiled, taking in the picture of a very shocked looking Jack Frost holding a long blue coat in his hands. The blue was a deep shade and made of a thin but sturdy fabric. There were no embellishments, but it was rather smart looking.

“I know it isn’t great,” She started, “But it was a rather quick project, and I thought that after your last one got all torn up you might like a new one. I’ve never made one of course, so the stitching might not be great and I-”

Her rambling was cut off when Jack pulled her into a big hug. She was only a little startled by the cold at first, but soon wrapped her arms around his waist. She often wondered if either everyone she lived with was really tall, or she was just extremely short.

After a while, they pulled away, and Katherine told him to try on the coat. It fitted him perfectly, not too long or too short on the arms, and draping down to hang just above his knees.

“North helped me make the thread so that it would be extremely hard to tear, no matter how thin it was.” She explained. “And Ombric helped to enchant it so that it would be protected from things like fire and stuff, all the while keeping to your normal body temperature so that you don’t overheat.”

Jack’s face was a well of emotion. “I- Katherine, I don’t know how to thank you. This is- no one has ever given me anything like this.”

Katherine shook her head. “There’s no need to thank me. It’s just the sort of thing that family does, right?”

He gave her a soft look. “Right.”

The two fell into a peaceful silence, eating muffins as they spoke about ordinary things, teasing each other like a pair of siblings. Katherine noticed that Jack also kept frequently giving her hair odd looks, and decided after the fifth time to just ask what was wrong with it.

“It just… looks like you got into a fight with a rabid squirrel.” He smirked. “And the squirrel won.”

She threw a muffin at him.

{~}

Ombric was starting to regret his decision to bring North along.

Ever since they had begun their flight to the Himalayas, North had been a bundle of nerves and excitement. The young man would always protest against such things, but Ombric noticed that, as much as North proclaimed himself a great unshakeable warrior, the swordsman had a limitless amount of wonder in his eyes.

Indeed, his apprentice had never seen views from so high up, and kept darting from one side of the sleigh to the other. He would ask questions about where they were, what their destination was, and what that that little speck on the ground was. (“That is a palace, Nicholas.” “Wha- but it’s so small!” “Well, you shall find that most things _are_ from this high up.”)

Unfortunately, the amusement and enjoyment that Ombric got from watching North run around with a telescope had begun to wear off rather quickly. Several hours later, and Ombric was just about getting ready to push North out of the sleigh, consequences be damned! However, it was also around this time that Ombric had noticed something off.

The Djini, much like North, had appeared to be admiring their surroundings. Now, amazing as North may proclaim himself, Ombric did _not_ believe that the man could find a way for a robot (magical or not) to gain emotions. So, this brought forth the question as to what might be wrong. And, after running through a few scenarios, Ombric could only come up with one conclusion.

It was possessed!

The wizard knew that Pitch had been rather quiet over the last month, and he had suspected that the Nightmare King had been spying on them, but he should have realised that Pitch might do something like this. He was a master of deception, an ancient being of before the Golden Age, wicked and cunning in all ways.

He worried now, not for his own safety, but that of North’s. True, the young man had encountered the Nightmare King before, but that had been when he was possessing the bear, limited by a beastly shell. They also would not have won that battle if not for the intervention of Seraphina and Nightlight. Now though, Pitch was possessing a large metal being, protected from sun and moonlight by hard iron. To top it all off, it also had a specially crafted sword in its possession.

North had crafted quite a few weapons, but none were as incredible as those made from the same meteor that had fallen and marked the founding of the village. Although significantly faded over the years, the material was still rich with stardust, making them more powerful than any weapon made on this earth. North had two of them now in his possession, but had given the third to the Djini.

He made a mental note to remind North that, should he attempt to make something like the Djini again, don’t give it something that can be easily used against them.

But that would come later, as for now, he had to find out how exactly the Djini became possessed and how to stop it.

Mentally sighing in frustration at the whole ordeal, he decided to question the owls at Santoff Claussen first. If he was lucky, they may have seen something that would give an indication as to how he could safely recover the Djini. If not…

Well, Ombric hoped that North would forgive him for destroying his metal creation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You for reading! Remember to comment!


	13. Wizards and battle plans: They’re just not a good mix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this chapter, please make sure that you have read chapter 12 and the notes I put at the beginning, as these have been released quite close to each other and I don't want you to get confused.
> 
> If you have read chapter 12, then I hope you liked it! This chapter is a bit shorter, but not too short. Sorry if everything seems a bit rushed, I'm super tired and want to get this out before tomorrow.
> 
> Please enjoy, and thank you for reading!

Chapter 13- Wizards and battle plans: They’re just not a good mix

“I’m telling you, something’s wrong!”

“And I’m telling you that going to find them will only cause more problems. We don’t even know where they’ve gone!”

Jack sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last hour. He and Katherine had been having the same argument for ages now, and he was pretty certain that the whole village had heard of it by now. (He’s pretty certain he heard some people placing bets on who would win, too.)

It had started mid-morning, when Katherine whent to inform people of North and Ombric’s sudden expedition. She said that she had had a bad feeling all day, but it suddenly became worse, and said that perhaps they should go looking for the travelling pair. Jack knew immediately that this was a bad idea and that they had no idea where they had even gone, and had argued as such. She then argued _back_ , showing him the compass that North gave her. Jack then argued back to _that_ , saying that it was too dangerous and that they should not leave the village without a good reason. She then huffed, stating that it was a good reason, and then stormed off.

This happened several times during the day, an endless battle of back and forth, the both of them giving different and the same arguments over and over. 

Now, they were having the same argument, walking Petrov back to his stable. Katherine had taken the horse out for a ride, but he had tripped his leg over a tree root and twisted it. Thankfully, it seemed that he wasn’t hurt too bad, and was still able to walk, even if it was with a limp.

“Look,” Jack said, “How about we sleep it off for tonight, and if you still have that feeling tomorrow, I will take that compass and go flying out to look for them.”

Katherine looked like she wanted to protest, but decided not to in the end. “Fine, but you have to promise not to get into any trouble yourself, got it?”

The spirit smiled at that. “It’s a promise.”

They finally reached the stable, and Jack helped her unsaddle Petrov. He couldn’t get too close, as many animals disliked his cold aura, but he still tried to help whenever possible. They then made their way back to Big Root after Mrs. Lowel came to have a look at Petrov’s leg.

They had just reached the front door, the sun nearly set behind them, when Katherine suddenly exclaimed, “The owls!” And rushed off inside.

Jack hurried after her, slightly confused. “We have owls?”

He watched as she rushed around, carrying a large sack out of one of the cupboards. “Yes, they’re Ombric’s. And I nearly forgot to feed them! They can become quite a handful when they don’t get fed on time.”

She seemed to be struggling with the bag, so Jack lifted it up for her and followed as they made their way through the large tree. Upon reaching Ombric’s study where the owls lived, Katherine waved her hands, lighting the candles and illuminating the large space. Jack realised that he had never actually been in here before, and suddenly realised why.

The whole space was filled top to bottom with books, some new and some looking like they could fall apart at the slightest touch. There were also hundreds of little items, all looking very rare and expensive. Yes, it was certainly not a place you would want a very curious winter spirit to go looking around.

But, he supposed that this was probably the only time he would be allowed in here, and stepped closer into the room behind Katherine, careful to mind any candles. The young girl moved to the back of the room, where a large globe (seriously, how many of these things does he have?) and several perches stood. Upon those perches were owls of various breeds and sizes, all seeming to become excited when Katherine came forward. 

As Katherine went to the task of feeding the large birds, Jack took a look around the study. Unlike Ombric’s usual work spaces, this one was quite messy, with books open and strewn all over the place. _They must have been in quite the hurry to leave if it’s all been left like this._

“Huh?”

He turned around to see Katherine with a rather confused look on her face, staring at the owls as they hooted to each other.

“What is it?” He asked, stepping closer, as he played with the sleeves of his coat. He was truly grateful to Katherine for giving it to him, as it was the first gift that Jack had ever been given. True, Ombric had also given him that pendent, but that was for a purpose. This, however, was simply a gift from one person to another, no thanks needed or a gift wanted in exchange. Just something to have, that he can call his own. He had felt sad, seeing his first cloak go, as it was one of his few possessions he had on him when he first came into being. It held a sentimental feeling, but he can’t remember why.

“The owls seem to be communicating with Ombric.” She explained. “He can contact them mentally over long distances, asking for guidance sometimes. I can’t quite understand all of what they are saying, but it seems to be something to do with a spider and… bigger portions? Sorry, I’m not very good at speaking owl.”

“It’s alright,” He reassured, “They don’t seem alarmed so that must mean that North and Ombric are okay, right?”

She gave him a faint smile. “Yeah.” The smile dropped again. “But…”

“You have that bad feeling still?”

“Mn. Maybe it _is_ just that, a feeling. Perhaps I’m being stupid and getting worked up over nothing.” She made her way over to the desk, closing some of the open books. 

“I wouldn’t say that. Do you remember last week when North got a bad feeling? And then later he found that the Williams’ dog had chewed through his favourite pair of boots?”

She giggled at the memory. “He was _so_ mad. It looked like he was about to explode!” 

“Yup! And that other time when Ombric got the same feeling before noticing what I had done to the kitchen.”

She was properly laughing now. Jack felt pleased, happy to know that even such simple memories can bring joy. He sat down in one of the chairs beside her, careful not to touch the older looking books. “So, maybe they just got really lost, finding themselves going round in circles, or Ombric got pooped on by a flock of geese.”

Katherine still looked amused. “I hope it’s just a small thing, at least then they would have some interesting little tales to tell us when they get back.” She giggled again before looking at the winter spirit. “Thank you, Jack. You always know how to make people feel better.”

“No problem. It is, of course, what family does, right?”

“Right.” She nodded her head. “I should probably clear up this study before Ombric gets back, he hates a mess, especially if he made it himself.”

Together, the two worked to put the study back into an orderly appearance, with Jack taking the more sturdy books and leaving the more fragile ones for Katherine to deal with.

Half an hour had passed until Jack found something rather strange. The other books had looked like they had been looked through slowly, pages turned with care. This one's pages, however, were slightly bent and torn at the edges, like someone had been searching through it in a hurry. _I don’t think that that’s something Ombric would do._

He also noticed a strange fingerprint on it, rather large, with the imprint of swirls on it. “Hey, Katherine.”

“Yeah?” The girl looked up.

"Have you ever seen these before?" He held up the book and pointed to the strange fingerprint.

Katherine came closer, inspecting the strange print. After squinting at it for a few moments, she shuffled around the room, moving large tomes and stacks of paper out of her way. When she reached her destination with a loud “Aha!”, she began to make her way back, now holding a large magnifying glass in her hand. She pressed it up close to the fingerprint, the both of them looking at the now more clear, and familiar, marks.

“These fingerprints,” Katherine said, worry lacing her tone, “They belong to-”

Suddenly, the owls began to hoot again, this time louder and with more alertness in the tone. Katherine gasped from beside Jack, and he didn’t need to ask for a translation. 

North and Ombric seemed to have found some kind of trouble, and he was fairly certain as to who may be the cause.

Slamming closed the book, the pair read the title of the tome with the strange fingerprints in it. The pair of them gasped, understanding at the same time the implications of their discovery.

On the cover of the book, in large bold letters, was: _**Spells of Enslavement.**_

Jack and Katherine looked at each other, both in horror and shock. 

“Not good!” They cried, as the pair of them went scrambling out of the door.

{~}

North had decided that never again should he _ever_ follow a wizard into battle.

Their long flight seemed to have been taking them forever, and North thought that a fun way to pass the time would be to annoy the hell out of his mentor. It had worked for a while, but, soon enough, Ombric developed a look on his face that screamed _‘if you don’t shut up, I’m throwing you out of this sleigh!’_

So, that left him much time to spare. He did honestly enjoy watching the views, experiencing things from a view he never thought possible, but after a few hours, he began to lose interest and found himself looking for things to do. He tried reading through one of the books that Ombric had brought along, but he learned rather quickly that reading and travelling are _not_ a good mix.

It was during this period of boredom, that he noticed something rather strange about the Djini. Specifically, it was the exact same thing that Ombric noticed, not that he knew that at the moment.

Of course, he did not come to the same conclusion as Ombric, but certainly noted the strangeness and decided to watch it for a while, in case anything else happened. Eventually, he decided to alert Ombric to this strange new development, but was interrupted before he could do so.

Ombric, who had been previously muttering something about owls and favouritism, decided to finally pipe up. 

Pointing to the mountain ahead of them, the wizard shouted, “Ahead of us, at the peak of the mountain! Land us there Djini!”

 **“As you command.”** The metal man obeyed, guiding the ship downwards to their destination.

North had become so enraptured in his study of the Djini that he had completely forgotten about his surroundings, and became quite startled when he noticed the large mountains that towered around them.

“The Himalayas.” Ombric said, noticing North’s gaze. “Home to some of the largest mountains in the world.”

 _They’re magnificent,_ North thought, eyeing the large snowy peaks. _Jack would adore this place._

The sleigh finally landed, nestling itself in the snowy earth. Ombric stepped out first, carrying his staff rather close to himself, as if expecting a fight. North also placed a hand on the hilt of his swords, ready for anything.

He studied their surroundings, murmuring that this would be the perfect place for an ambush. He made eye contact with Ombric, noticing that the Djini was not looking at them at that moment in time. After spending some time living under the same roof, people tended to pick up certain things about each other. Like how you could usually tell Jack was lying, as his ears would blush a faint blue, or that Katherine was up to something as she would start fiddling with her hair.

Ombric’s tells would always be his eyes and eyebrows. Some of them were quite recurrent, and the other three had taken to giving each look a name. There was the ‘I am extremely disappointed in you’ look, the ‘I’m not gonna say anything, but just know that I am silently judging you’, the ‘Whatever you did, just make sure to clean it up before anybody else notices’, and of course, the recent development of ‘I’m getting the urge to commit murder’ look. There were countless others, all iconic and having their own funny stories to go along with them.

Currently, Ombric had the ‘I know something, but I’m not going to/ can’t tell you right now’, along with a little mix of the ‘Please, for once in your life, _don’t_ do anything stupid or I swear I will _end you_.’

North understood the message, backing away slightly. If the old wizard had a plan, then everything should go smoothly…

… Is what he thought.

No, North did not quite know what Ombric’s battle plan was, but this is how it went down.

Ombric had just finished telling the Djini to switch back to it’s normal form so that it may start digging through the snow for… whatever it was they were there for. The Djini did as asked, switching back the form of a tall man, when North noticed it.

The sword he had given the Djini hang on its waist, and the metal man’s hand twitched, only for a moment, as if going to reach for it. North was unsure as to whether Ombric noticed it or not for a while, but got the message when the old wizard cried “Now, North!”

Taking that as permission to attack, North drew his newly crafted twin sabres, brandishing them in the air before rushing towards the Djini. He felt rather put out at the idea of having to fight _against_ his own creation, but decided that he would rather destroy _it rather than it destroy _him.__

__

Giving one of his best battle cries, he slashed at the Djini, barely missing and then moving to block as the metal man responded in kind.

__

“So it seems you noticed it too, old man!” He shouted towards Ombric. “You could have warned me a little better, though.”

__

He ducked, narrowly avoiding a jab at his head, having his hat be skewered instead. _Damn, first my favourite boots and now my hat! I’m seriously going to need to get some new clothes after this. And make Ombric pay for it all in revenge for dragging me out here!_

__

Ombric, standing further away, holding his staff aloft as magic swirled around him like a blue mist. “Yes, well, had I done that, then it would have ruined the idea of a _surprise attack!_ ”

__

North huffed, feinting the side and moving to make another swipe at his opponent. Ombric seemed to be nearly done with his spell, now chanting in an unfamiliar language as the mist grew larger and more concentrated around him.

__

But, before either of them could finish their movements, the pair of them froze, paralysed by some unknown force. North tried in vain to move his arm, but felt like it was encased in stone. He shifted his eyes to see Ombric in a similar situation, arms spread out wide and all trace of magic gone, stopped mid sentence.

__

A dark, echoey and familiar chuckle came from the Djini.

__

“Well, well,” Pitch Black crooned, “This is quite the situation the pair of you have landed yourselves in, isn’t it?”

__

Well, should anyone later ask, North would wholeheartedly agree that Ombric was completely to blame for this whole situation.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Remember to comment!


	14. At The High Peaks of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This chapter took AGES to write! I kept going back and changing things and then adding more stuff and deleting it. But it is finally done! My longest chapter yet!  
> The only thing I can really say right now is thank you so so much to everyone who has been reading this and supporting me, your comments really do mean a lot!
> 
> So maybe I should apologise for the ending...?

Chapter 14- At the high peaks of the world

Had it been under different circumstances, Nightlight might have found the scene of everyone in Santoff Claussen running around like headless chickens rather amusing.

Unfortunately, the circumstances that caused such a situation to arise were far from funny. Not too long ago, at the beginning of the day, the spectral boy had seen a rather peculiar sight. The two Tall Ones, Ombric and North, had gathered all manner of items into a sleigh of some kind, entering into it themselves, too.

But, this was not the peculiar part, no. Instead of simply having the sleigh be pulled along by reindeer or horses like most people in this world, these two had somehow managed to make their sleigh _fly_.

Now, he did know that the little village named Santoff Claussen was filled with some very weird people (those living in the large tree being strangest of all), but this seemed to be taking things to a whole other level. Quite enamoured by the sight of the flying sleigh, Nightlight decided to follow it.

It was a bit entertaining for a while, listening to North constantly ask questions as Ombric seemed to become more and more annoyed. However, the spectral boy soon became rather bored, and he developed a strange feeling in his chest. It was the kind of feeling that one should listen to, like if there is trouble or you have somewhere to be but can’t remember why. This feeling seemed to grow stronger the further away he flew from the village, and he eventually decided to make his way back.

It did not take him long, less than a minute, but he realised that he must have been trailing that sleigh for quite a while, for the sun had nearly set on the horizon. He arrived just in time to see the Small yellow One, Katherine, rushing into the big tree, yelling something about owls. The cold One, Jack, was also there, chasing after her.

Nightlight was not sure as to whether he made the right choice in coming back, for he waited and waited, yet nothing happened. The feeling in his chest had subsided once he entered the village again, but he couldn’t help but wonder…

Suddenly, that feeling returned once again, this time much stronger. He was sure of it- something was definitely wrong. Just as he was preparing himself to take to the air, he heard a door slam open and Katherine’s voice calling for help.

Alarmed, he looked down to see all the villagers bursting out their homes, all yelling things and asking questions one after the other. Eventually, they all turned quiet once Katherine yelled for them to shut up. She explained to them that the wizard, Ombric, and his apprentice, North, were in trouble. 

_I should have continued to follow them,_ he thought. _If then, maybe…_

He shook his head. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to dwell on what might have been. He noticed that some of the villagers had decided to bring some reindeer out of the stable area, and some others had gone to get a sleigh. He knew that such a thing would take too long, it would never reach the missing two in time. He looked towards the reindeer, eight of them in total. Katherine also seemed to realise that a sleigh would take too long, and was telling Jack as such when she climbed onto the back of one of the large animals.

He landed down from his perch in one of the tall trees, staying away from the large gathering of Tall Ones as he made his way over to Katherine. He noticed that, in her left hand, she held an ornate compass which she stared at rather intently. A look of determination was stretched upon her face, and Nightlight doubted that no one, no matter how hard they tried, could dissuade her from her goal.

It was then that he got an idea. He wasn’t quite sure where it came from, or even if it was possible, it seemed almost mad even. But, he might as well give it a try. 

_It seems that this village is rubbing off on me. I can’t quite tell if that is a good thing or not..._

{~}

_North, Ombric, wherever you are, please be safe!_

Katherine held the compass close to her, scared of dropping it in some way. She knew that perhaps during a time when everyone is on edge that causing a mass panic by saying that their resident wizard has landed himself in some deep trouble might not have been the smartest of ideas, but she was panicking quite a bit herself right now.

“Are you going to be okay riding bare back like that?” Jack asked from beside her. He had argued about her going at first, but soon relented, realising that she would go with or without his permission. 

“Yes, I will have to be.” She replied, sitting on the back of Dasher. They had no time to get proper saddles or anything, and the reindeers ran better without them anyway. 

They had decided that some of the adults would be going with her, riding on the other reindeer whilst Jack flew slightly ahead from above. Most of the adults were against Katherine coming along with them, but they soon found out that the compass that pointed to North only worked when Katherine was holding it.

The young girl would usually be delighted at the prospect of leaving the village and going on some kind of adventure, but now she only felt grim determination, a need to get there as quickly as possible. She was beginning to lose patience while waiting, the adults taking too long to get supplies for the journey. They did not know how far they had to go, and after they decided to abandon the sleigh, they could only take so much.

The reindeer also seemed to sense her impatience, as they began pounding at the snow with their hooves as if getting ready to run. She knew, of course, that these reindeer would never run without being told. They had been raised and trained by Ombric himself, so that they would be of the kindest temperament.

At least, they weren’t _supposed_ to run off without permission.

It was only when the adults finally started to make their way over to the reindeer that Dasher decided to whip his head up, causing the other reindeer to stand at attention as well. And, without further warning, all eight of them started to charge forward, Katherine being the only rider.

“KATHERINE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” shouted Old William.

“IT ISN’T ME, I SWEAR!” She called back. The reindeer were moving quickly now, too quickly for her to hear the shouts from the rest of the villagers.

_What’s going on?_ She thought. _The reindeer have never done anything like this before!_

They were nearing the tree line now, and Katherine felt a familiar chill settle around her. Looking up, she spotted Jack swooping down to fly beside her, staff in hand.

“Hey, I know you’re impatient,” he called, “but you could’ve waited just a few moments more.”

“I didn’t mean to! They just started running on their ow-ahh!”

They had finally reached the beginning of the forest, but instead of running through it, the reindeers had decided to take a detour. 

Over the top of it.

Up and up the reindeer went, in pairs, from Dasher and Dancer, then Prancer and Vixen, to Comet and Cupid, ending with Donner and Blitzen.

At first, Katherine felt unnerved and scared, worried that she might fall. But thankfully, Jack was there, keeping pace with the reindeer and sticking close to her side. His presence, though cold, was soothing in many ways.

Her fears also completely abated once she realised that the reindeer had leveled out, now dancing and jumping across the clouds. She finally smiled, knowing exactly who could have been the cause for this.

True enough, as she searched the darkened skies, a flash appeared not too far from her. It settled into a white light, flying alongside them like a shooting star. Katherine waved, laughing with glee. The light grew brighter in return, zooming slightly ahead to guide the way in the dark.

The yellow clad girl glanced up, admiring the night sky and the myriad of stars that were dotted all over it. _It’s beautiful…_

“Well, this is convenient.” Jack’s steady voice cut through her thoughts. He looked rather surprised, but there was a smile dancing on his lips. “It seems we shall have an adult free trip after all.”

Katherine laughed, and looked back towards where the light had sped ahead of them. “I wonder if that was intentional…”

He grinned in response. “Now then, compass bearer, which way do we head?”

{~}

Pitch was delighted.

Not only had he secured himself a body that was safe from both sun and moonlight, but he had also been able to fool that pathetic little wizard and his annoying apprentice. True, his movements were rather limited in this mechanical shell, but it had a sword and he could easily still cast magic from within.

He had been spying on the magic filled village for quite some time, disguising himself as a simple house spider. He thought it was a good idea at first, but he soon came to learn that the tree known as Big Root was home to some of the most hazardous people _ever._

Too many times had he come close to being squashed by a book, electrocuted by a spell gone wrong, frozen solid or caught up in an explosion. Pitch had decided that he may have very well declared war on a bunch of insane people, and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. It was hard enough trying to avoid the moonbeams that searched for him every night, let alone avoid being pulverised by a bunch of idiots!

But, in the end he learned something quite valuable. Apparently, the old wizard had found something, a weapon of sorts that may be used against him. And that certainly would _not_ do! 

If it were an ordinary bunch of people who were to set out and find this weapon, he may not be as concerned. But no. Not _these_ people. Pitch actually felt some sort of dread settle within him when he found out that these morally good, hazardous, completely unconcerned for their wellbeing, indestructible _morons_ might be looking for a weapon to destroy him. No, instead he would be taking _no_ chances.

The wizard never spoke of what this weapon was aloud, nor where it could be found, so Pitch had to resort to reading the old man's notes. The only way he found out about this weapon was when the wizard had become so into his research that he started _mumbling things aloud!_

Pitch thought that he had hit a gold mine with this guy! 

(Keyword being ‘thought’)

Unfortunately for Pitch, Ombric never did it again, and all of his notes had been scrambled in some unrecognisable language. The Nightmare King had cursed the damn old coot to the centre of the earth and back!

Yes, the information was more than he _had_ , but he needed more. Where is it? What is it? What can it do? It was too bad that Pitch never realised that Ombric was asking these exact questions as well.

So, Pitch spent much of his time scuttling around, trying to gather whatever other information he could get (all whilst trying not to be unceremoniously squashed). He discovered… not much to be honest.

The little girl seemed to have a special kind of spellbook, but he only remembered her casting that shield spell the one time when he was possessing that bear. Other than that, he did not see her as much of a threat. However, she may make a good fearling, with how strongly she stood against him that day.

The red cloaked man, the bandit, seemed like more of an annoyance than anything. Other than being able to wield swords and create big explosions, the man had nothing that could truly be used against someone like Pitch. The young man found it hard to light a _candle_ for fuck’s sake!

The wizard seemed to pose much more of a problem. He was older and wiser than the rest of them, wielding an unknown amount of magic. Pitch knew he would have to be careful around this one, and the best way to deal with him would be to outsmart him. As he was now, the Nightmare King was not powerful enough just yet to completely overpower the wizard.

Lastly, there was the anomaly, the winter spirit. At first, Pitch saw him as only a trickster, a young child who did not yet have a grasp on how his powers worked. And, yes, the spirit did spend a lot of time throwing snowballs at people and freezing things without meaning to, but there was also… something else. The way the wind would fly around him, the presence of authority that seemed to emanate from him. Pitch was not _concerned_ by this, but merely thought it would be a good idea to keep a special eye on this one.

In the end, one could only come to the conclusion that these people would only be a minor inconvenience to Pitch, right?

Wrong. 

Alone, they would be no problem, but together? These people would be a force to be reckoned with. It was like they somehow resonated with each, each causing their own kind of chaos, but together making the biggest chaotic mess anyone has _ever seen!_ If he weren’t the actual embodiment of fear, Pitch might come close to saying he was terrified by the thought of ever facing… _that!_

Thankfully, he _is_ the actual embodiment of fear, and the closest feeling he could ever get to such a thing was high levels of uneasiness.

So, imagine his great elation upon finding out that not only would the wizard and his apprentice being the only ones going on their little expedition, but they would also be taking the Djini with them too!

Now, he could deal with them separately, starting with that infuriating wizard and his insufferable apprentice!

A few hours later, and he found himself laughing gleefully at the sight of his enemies, reduced to little doll versions of themselves. The book that he had found, _**Spells of Enslavement**_ , had quite a few interesting little tricks in it, but this one was by far his favourite!

Not only did it humiliate his opponent, but made it so that they would answer any question that was asked of it. Now, all he had to do was ask the wizard where and what the weapon was, then Pitch could destroy the little dolls, be on his way and then eventually blow up the moon! (With a few other steps along the way, too.)

With an evil grin on his face (that no one could actually see), Pitch picked up the tiny wizard doll in his large, metal hand. 

“Tell me where the weapon you seek lies!” He demanded.

Silence.

Huh, that was weird, he was certain the spell said that the doll would answer any question.

“Tell me what weapon it is you seek!”

Silence.

“ARGH! Of all the useless little-” He gave a great sigh of frustration. It would do him no good to get so worked up now. _Even if the wizard has found some way out of answering my questions, that does not mean his apprentice has not._

Sadly for Pitch, Ombric had made certain to give North absolutely no details as to what was going on. The young swordsman didn’t even know that they were looking for a weapon! 

“Do you know why you are even here?” Pitch asked, his tone bordering near hysterical at this point.

**“To search for something.”** The little doll North replied.

_Fucking finally,_ Pitch thought.

“And what might that be?”

**“I do not know.”**

“No!” Pitch wanted to stab something, preferably Nightlight. But, that would have to come later, and Pitch was running out of time. It would not do for the spectral being to suddenly drop in unannounced again, and Pitch _needed_ these answers. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the moonbeams alerted him of the Nightmare King's presence, as the sun had set and the moon's glow became brighter with each passing moment.

It seemed he shall have to leave for now, and take the wizard with him. Sooner or later, he _will_ get his answers. But for now, he no longer had a need for the bandit, it was useless to him and held no further purpose.

He lifted the little doll above his head, intending to smash it.

He swung his arm down, and-

{~}

Jack thinks that Nightlight has decided to make a habit of dropping in unannounced.

Or, more specifically, dropping in on Pitch Black unannounced. Because that’s exactly what he did.

They had not been traveling long, the reindeer flying so fast that Jack actually had a hard time keeping up with them. Katherine kept glancing at her compass every now and then, the arrow not having moved the entire time. The reindeer began to slow to a stop, and the light ahead of them dimmed, revealing the spectral boy. He turned around, putting one finger to his lips and pointing the other in a direction not too far from them.

It was too dark now for Jack to see anything too far, but he supposed that that must be where Ombric and North were. He thought that he vaguely heard a shout of great frustration, but he couldn’t be sure. They were lucky that it was a clear night, no wind howling or snow blowing in their faces. He wasn’t sure about Nightlight, but Katherine already looked freezing, her small hands shaking as she gripped onto the compass, finally deciding to place it inside of her pocket.

“So, what’s the plan?” He whispered, looking at the other two, because he sure as hell didn’t have one.

“Umm…” Katherine scrunched her face up in thought.

Nightlight just shrugged.

“You mean that the entire time that we’ve been flying, _neither_ of you thought about what we might do?”

Katherine gave him a look. “Ha! And you _did?_ ”

“Well, no, but-”

_**Quiet**_ , a voice said, echoing in his mind. At the same time, Nightlight put a hand on each of their mouths, silencing the both of them. He hated being silenced! Jack had half the mind to lick the hand just to see how the boy reacted, but then noticed that those luminescent eyes were fixed on something else.

Shifting his eyes, he saw a fearling drifting in the air, not too far away from them. Its movements were slow, obviously not having noticed them. He heard a small, sharp intake of breath from Katherine. Although the girl never mentioned it, he knew that her first encounter with a fearling left quite the impression, often interrupting her sleep.

_**It’s alright,**_ the voice said again. It did not exactly sound like a person speaking, but more like the words just suddenly appeared in his mind. _**As long as it does not sense any fear, it will not come near us. Just stay still, silent and calm.**_

Katherine’s eyes seemed to widen a little at the words, but she visibly relaxed, focusing on them to banish any bad thoughts. Jack also felt rather soothed, the voice seeming to take all worries away. Nightlight had not moved an inch, like he had completely frozen, his eyes still on the passing fearling.

Eventually, the fearling left, its stifling presence leaving with it. Nightlight took his hands away, gliding back a little. All of them seemed to sigh in relief as soon as the fearling had gone, like a weight had been lifted off of them. Even the reindeer appeared less tense.

“That was _you_ , right?” Jack asked Nightlight, breaking the silence. “I’m not just suddenly going mad and hearing voices in my head?”

The spectral boy nodded in confirmation, giving Jack a look that said ‘I already thought you were all insane, but sure.’

“I don’t suppose sneaking around will be much of an option, then?” Katherine’s voice was rather shaky, still quite spooked by the fearling’s presence.

Nightlight shook his head. _**No, our best option is to rush in and attack before the Nightmare King notices us. It would be best to avoid a fight, so we should grab the Tall Ones and go before the Dark One calls his allies.**_

Well it was certainly a better idea than any that Jack had (meaning that he had none), but he couldn’t help but wonder how smoothly this plan would go.

_By Tall Ones, he must mean Ombric and North,_ he thought. _But how do we get them out of there? If they’re injured, it isn’t exactly like Katherine and I can carry them onto the backs of the reindeer, unless Nightlight has some kind of super strength. Speaking of Nightlight..._

“Jack,” Katherine called, “You have your thinking face on. If there’s a question, you should ask, it’s not like either of us can _read your mind._ ”

When she said the last part, she smirked, looking towards the glowing boy next to her. Nightlight pouted back in her direction, and the winter spirit couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he was missing here.

_**Don’t worry about your friends,**_ Nightlight looked back at Jack. _**Trust me.**_

Jack frowned. “Why _are_ you helping us?” The question seemed to startle the boy, his eyebrow shooting up in surprise. “I mean, I know you helped Katherine, and I am grateful for that, really, but what reason did you have for doing it? And why does Pitch seem to hate you so much?”

It had been bothering Jack ever since the fight with the bear. At first, the Nightmare King seemed to leave because of the sun, but when Jack thought about it, Pitch was only really looking at Nightlight, a look of pure loathing on his face. Seraphina also seemed to know Nightlight, even calling out his name as he left, but she never mentioned him again afterwards. The spectral boy was also there when Katherine got thrown into the sky, and suddenly appeared out of nowhere to help guide them here. There were so many pieces of a picture here, but too many gaps to complete it.

It wasn’t that Jack didn’t trust Nightlight, he just didn’t like not knowing _anything_ about the guy.

“Jack…” Katherine warned. She obviously did not think that this was the right time and place for this. And neither did Pitch, it seemed.

A great yell could be heard, this time louder than the others, causing all three of them to look in the direction of which it came from. Nightlight, being the only one who could actually see what was going on down there, tensed and lifted his diamond dagger higher.

_**We will have to speak of this matter later,**_ he said. _**Right now, prepare for chaos.**_

With that, he sped off, the reindeer and Katherine following behind. Jack had only a moment of hesitation before flying down himself. _It seems my questions will be put on hold for now._

Jack flew as fast as he could, coat flapping behind him and gripping his staff tightly, passing the reindeer and a cheering Katherine. At least she was able to still enjoy herself during all of this. 

Normally, he would never fly so fast when going down, but he was glad he did, as it allowed him to just in time catch the wonderful sight of Nightlight slamming right into the Djini, sending the metal man bouncing away into the snow with a few _clanks._

Katherine and the reindeer landed quickly, sending snow flying everywhere. She hopped off of Dasher just as the Djinin picked itself back up out of the snow. It whipped it’s head to the side, locking its metallic eyes onto Nightlight.

“You!” A familiar voice snarled, full of malice and spite. So he really does hate Nightlight. _I have to admit that I respect the guy, for I would never want that tone of voice turned against me._

Nightlight merely smirked at Pitch, spreading his arms out wide as if to say ‘surprise bitch!’ Pitch responded with a growl, grabbing his sword and charging at the boy. But Nightlight merely smirked wider, shooting upwards, out of reach. The big problem with Pitch’s metal body was that he could not teleport or fly without the help of the fearlings, who were rather… occupied for the moment.

Some of them were busy trying to overpower Jack, who kept darting all over the place, freezing the dark beings that came too close. Most of them had gone after Katherine, thinking her an easy target, but did not expect to be assaulted by eight very angry reindeer. The yellow clad girl was also casting spells left and right, even whacking some of the fearlings with her bag when they tried to touch her. Close to her chest, she held two little dolls, both in the likeness of North and Ombric. The rest of them surrounded Pitch and Nightlight, the pair locked in a close quarter duel, both narrowly avoiding each other’s attacks. None of the fearlings dared get close, wary of the spectral boy's fatal light.

He knew that not all of them could keep it up forever. More fearlings were sure to arrive, and it wouldn’t take long for one of them to become bold enough to attack Nightlight while he was distracted. Jack was also getting tired, the grip on his staff beginning to loosen, and he could see that the reindeer and Katherine were becoming trapped in a circle.

The fearlings seemed to realise it was well, as one of the ones on the sidelines suddenly decided to take a jab at the spectral boy’s open back. Nightlight, sensing the dark presence, turned quickly, piercing the stray fearling with his dagger, destroying it. Pitch took advantage of this, swinging his large sword at the boy, slashing at his back and sending him flying across the ground.

“NIGHTLIGHT!” Katherine screamed, watching helplessly as he landed not too far away from her. Jack cursed aloud, watching as the boy struggled to rise. A horde of fearlings began to swarm him, making him fly higher in the air and further away.

Pitch laughed loudly, his voice echoing in the air. “You have no idea how much I have been waiting to do that! Quite therapeutic actually.”

With that, the Nightmare King amassed his own swarm of fearlings behind him, making his presence far bigger and much more imposing.

_Well,_ he thought humorlessly, _Nightlight did say to prepare for chaos…_

{~}

Katherine felt like she was gonna pass out, throw up and start shouting profanities about the Nightmare King to anyone who would listen. Not particularly in that order.

It had been bad enough to realise that not only had North and Ombric been attacked by Pitch Black, but had also been transformed into small doll versions of themselves. (She had to admit that they were kind of cute, coming with little miniature swords and a staff. Although North appeared to have lost his hat for some reason.)

But then watching as Nightlight had skidded through the snow, leaving a large dent in the snow behind him, she felt something break in her. Her emotions overwhelmed her, and she screamed his name, rushing quickly to his side, ignoring the frantic and panicked sounds of the reindeer. 

Although she had only had a few interactions with him, Katherine already felt a strong bond of friendship and comradery with Nightlight. Ombric had always told her that she could do anything she put her mind to, but it had been Nightlight who held her hand and jumped with her across the clouds. The spectral boy had saved her life and brushed away her fears, giving her hope when there seemed like none. She hoped that, in the future, given that they survive this hellish night, that they may spend more time together.

But first, she had to make sure that they made it out alive. _All_ of them. She thought about North and Ombric, stuck as dolls and hidden away within her bag. Of Jack, whom she could spy higher and higher in the sky, a train of feralings on his trail.

She turned to Nightlight, kneeling beside him as he struggled to lift himself from the ground. There seemed to be no wound on him nor even a mark on his dark armour, but the heavy blow had seemed to have taken quite a lot out of him. The reindeer gathered in a circle around the pair, thrusting their antlers at any fearling that tried to take advantage of the spectral boy’s dimmed light.

Eventually, Nightlight was able to shift himself into a sitting position in front of her. He winced at the movement, brushing snow off of his armour and out of his disheveled hair.

_**Are you alright?**_ He looked at her, searching for any wounds.

“Hey, I’m not the one who just got backhanded by a very magical, very sharp and very dangerous sword being wielded by a demonic overlord who seems to have it out for especially killing you.” She was extremely surprised to see that one of North’s stardust swords had done effectively _no_ damage to the boy. The only harm he _did_ seem to get was from the impact of the blow.

He waved his hand dismissively, completely unconcerned as to what just happened. She was about to say something more, but got interrupted by a large crash and a wave of snow being blown over both her and Nightlight.

Next to them stood Jack, slouched down and barely holding his staff in his grip, looking like he was about to collapse right there and then. Which he did, actually.

As the winter spirit began to topple back, the two scrambled to stop him from hitting the ground too hard. Just as she had reached to support Jack, though, she had to let go in order to quickly cast a shield around them and the reindeer as an onslaught of fearlings were rushing to slam into them. This led to Nightlight, suddenly being given the burden of lifting all of Jack’s weight (which isn’t very much actually, he’s quite light), to collapse back on the ground with Jack now on top of him. She felt a bit bad, but her spirits lifted once she heard a groan from the winter spirit.

She would have looked back to check on the two, but her concentration stayed on keeping up the shield, which was constantly being bombarded by fearlings. She was already feeling tired before, but by now she was certain that she had gone beyond the point of exhaustion and was now running on pure adrenaline. They did not have much time.

“If either of you have any ideas, now would be a _brilliant_ time to use them!” She gritted out, now spying the familiar figure of the possessed Djini stalking towards the shield. Although Pitch had gotten a good hit in on Nightlight, the spectral boy had also been able to cause quite a bit of damage, too. The metal man’s movements were slow and clunky, like it was unable to move its arms and legs properly.

“I vote Nightlight _out_ of the planning process, considering how well his last plan has gone!” Jack’s voice called from behind her. She then heard the sound of Nightlight smacking the winter spirit on the back of the head, causing him to yelp loudly.

If she weren't so tired, then Katherine might have just screamed her lungs out from frustration. She wasn’t quite sure if it was the fact that they were both men or immortals or perhaps both, but she knew for certain that if they were to live through this, then she was going to smack them _both_ on the heads.

The reindeer began to shuffle close together, unnerved by Pitch’s presence which had steadily become closer. It wouldn’t be too long before he reached the barrier, and then they would all be screwed.

It was just as she was thinking these thoughts, that she heard the faint sound of someone standing up and the clinking of armour. _Nightlight, but what is he…?_

“Close your eyes.” A clear and mesmerising voice cut through the air, and Katherine could not help but be compelled to do as was told. 

What she did not see after doing so was that Jack also heard that voice, doing the same as Katherine. Pitch was right in front of them now and spied the three figures through the golden shield. Two of them, Katherine and Jack, were kneeling on the ground, one gripping a staff and the other collapsing under the weight of maintaining the flickering barrier.

The third, however, was standing up, a diamond dagger held loosely in his hand. Nightlight looked Pitch straight in the eyes, not a trace of fear or uncertainty to be found. Pitch stared back, sending a silent challenge to those luminescent green eyes. But Pitch soon lost his smugness when he saw the smirk plastered on Nightlight’s face, before the boy’s eyes flashed brightly once.

Pitch and his fearlings had no time to prepare as Nightlight spread his arms out wide and-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry...
> 
> You may shout at me all you like in the comments, I will try to post Ch 15 as soon as I finish it. (Which might be a while...)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it this far!
> 
> Please comment your thoughts down below.


End file.
